At different times this fall, Christian Brothers Academy boys soccer star Andrew DePerro has just taken it upon himself to deliver big victories for his side.
That happened again in last Thursday’s game at rival Jamesville-DeWitt, where an early DePerro blitz sparked the state Class A no. 19-ranked Brothers to a 6-1 victory over the Red Rams.
Rarely in the history of this neighborhood series has it been this lopsided. But as was the case in a 4-0 CBA victory on Sept. 24 at Alibrandi Stadium, when DePerro recorded a hat trick, J-D’s defense had no answer for him.
During an active first half, Adam Resetarits put J-D on the board, but it was canceled out by the Brothers zooming out to a 4-1 lead, mostly due to DePerro getting around the Rams’ defenders and slipping shots into the net.
As CBA pulled further away in the late going, DePerro raised his total to four goals, giving him seven in the two meetings against J-D. Tim Corapi set up many of those plays with three assists, while Matt Marzocchi chimed in with a goal and two assists. Matt DePerro got one goal and one assist.
J-D will get one more shot at CBA, though, as the no. 7 seed Red Rams meet the no. 2 seed Brothers in the Section III Class A quarterfinals Thursday night at 6:30 at Alibrandi Stadium.
Before all this, the Brothers, building upon the momentum of its big Oct. 11 victory over previously unbeaten Fowler, met another city foe last Monday night at Alibrandi Stadium, this time beating the Henninger Black Knights 2-1.
For much of the night, CBA controlled the flow of play, forcing Henninger goalie Jon Larca to make 15 saves. Yet the Brothers only led 1-0 at halftime and watched the Black Knights stay close behind Nae Reh’s second-half goal.
The Brothers still got through, though, as Andrew DePerro and Matt Stedman earned goals, while Liam Price and Austin Dukat got one assist apiece. Greg McCann played in goal, earning eight saves.
Back in league play a night later, CBA scored all of its goals in the first half against Mexico, leading to a 5-0 rout of the Tigers.
DePerro was part of that 40-minute flurry, but so was Marzocchi, Caropi and Will Brower as they each scored goals. Nick McCreary, Austin Higgins and Keith Hyunh picked up assists as the Brothers out-shot Mexico 25-8 overall.
J-D, who had fought all season to get above the .500 mark, did so (7-6-2) last Tuesday night, at Cortland, where a quick start led to a 3-1 victory over the Purple Tigers.
Finally able to get some production out of a sometimes anemic attack, the Red Rams were up 2-0 by halftime. Xander Ferlenda, Mike Mulvihill and Luca Pelligra each would score, while Resetarits and Jordan Van Stry and Adam Resetarits earned one assist apiece.
Not to be forgotten, East Syracuse-Minoa, gearing up for its Class A title defense and fresh off a big win over Fayetteville-Manlius on Oct. 13, maintained that momentum last Tuesday night with a 2-0 shutout victory at Fulton.
A goal in each half proved enough for the Spartans, who saw Dan Lewis and Jordan Laneuville (who played goal late in the 0-0 draw with J-D on Oct. 9) find the net and Chris Schiavone add an assist. ESM’s defense did the rest, holding the Red Raiders to just three shots all night.
Then the Spartans got a chance to upend another of the Class A favorites, Fowler, and avenge a 3-2 defeat to those Falcons on Sept. 24, when it squandered a two-goal first-half advantage.
Fowler won again, though, this time a 2-1 decision where the damage was rendered early. The Falcons put the Spartans in a 2-0 hole in the first half, mostly on the work of Jean-Paul Mboyo, who earned one goal and one assist.
Then ESM’s defense tightened in the second half, and it cut the deficit in half, but could not inch any closer as Falcons goalie Abdullah Abdulkareem made fives. Cameron Schiavone finished with seven saves.
ESM, as the no. 4 seed in the Class A sectional tournament, , hosts no. 5 seed New Hartford in Thursday night’s Class A quarterfinal, which kicks off at 6:30. A win there could mean another shot at Fowler, who owns the top seed.
