Cheyenne Hall made sure that the Fayetteville-Manlius girls soccer team’s Section III Class AA title quest lasts at least one more round.
Hall scored twice and assisted on another goal to power the Hornets past Christian Brothers Academy, 3-1, in Thursday night’s AA quarterfinal.
The no. 4 seed Hornets (11-4-2) will take on top seed Baldwinsville in next week’s AA semifinals at Nottingham High School. The Bees, who beat Auburn 7-2 in its quarterfinal game, swept F-M by 2-1 and 3-2 scores in regular-season play. No. 5 seed CBA saw its season send at 9-5-2.
If Hall is in the same form against B’ville, the Hornets are legitimate championship game contenders. Her two goals upped her season total to 21.
“Cheyenne is a great leader,” F-M coach Kory McMahon said. “She did a great job coming back to the ball and finding some seams.”
Hall started the night at striker, but was moved to midfield after halftime. The shift worked, as all three Hornet goals came in the final 40 minutes.
Hall picked up her assist on F-M’s opening tally. Her perfectly placed corner kick found Ani Villalba’s head,and Villalba redirected the ball into the far corner just 2:31 after halftime.
Hall found the net herself just 1:25 later. She hit a dazzling direct kick from 25 yards out that touched nothing but net.
“That made the difference,” McMahon said. “Cheyenne ripped a great shot.”
The two quick goals hit CBA hard. “We were happy with 0-0 at halftime,” Brothers coach Tom Daviau said.
CBA didn’t quit, though. The Brothers had a strong wind at its back and set about cutting into the deficit.
The plan looked to be working when CBA’s fine midfielder Eva Gordon sent a superb 30 yard shot high into the F-M net in the 62nd minute.
But Hall didn’t wait long to put an end to the Brothers’ hopes. Sent in alone thanks to an excellent through ball by Emily Murray, Hall skipped a shot low into the opposite corner at 68:34.
CBA only managed one shot the rest of the way. “We didn’t generate a lot of offense,” Daviau said. “(F-M) played good defense against and they have a good keeper.”
That would be Nina Quigley, who finished with eight saves on the night. CBA’s Lindsay Evans stopped six shots.
Baldwinsville’s sweep of F-M doesn’t scare off McMahon. “I like the way we match up against them,” he said. “I think we have a great shot.”
Whoever wins that semifinal will play for the Class AA championship against Liverpool or Cicero-North Syracuse, as all of the top four seeds in the sectional bracket remain alive.
