Season after season, the Marcellus girls soccer team aims for the same high marks, from league to Section III to state Class B honors. And the 2013 Mustangs appear well on its way to another serious championship push, if the early results are any indication.
Back on Aug. 30, Marcellus opened at home against Solvay, and unleashed sophomore Madison Belvito in a big way as she led the Mustangs to a 7-1 romp over the Bearcats.
Belvito, who was a top scorer for head coach Laurie Updike as Marcellus won last year’s sectional Class B title, was part of a first-half explosion, the Mustangs tagging Solvay for six unanswered goals to resolve matters early.
When she wasn’t scoring twice, Belvito was drawing in Bearcats defenders, and then passing off to open teammates for more tallies as she posted a career-best four assists.
Jada Sargeant also had two goals, while Brielle Filtch managed one goal and one assist. Molly MacLachlan had the other tally, while Emma Blystone and Molly Tice also picked up assists.
Nicole Antonacci notched Solvay’s lone goal in the second half, but Marcellus took 26 shots to the Bearcats’ four.
Somehow, Marcellus improved on those gaudy numbers in last Tuesday’s game against Phoenix, crushing the Firebirds 12-0 as it scored 10 times in the first half alone and added two more even though all of the starters were gone in the second half.
Here, the scoring was spread out. Sargeant found the net three times, while Clare Manahan and Karen Cramer each scored twice. Belvito had a goal and assist, as did Sarah Sotelo, with Blystone, Shannon Donahue and Bri Sammon gettine one goal apiece. Jordin Wentworth had a career-best three assists.
The Mustangs made it 3-0 on Thursday night, blanking Bishop Ludden 5-0 as it notched all of its goals in the first half against Gaelic Knights keeper Gemma O’Kane, who made nine saves.
Filtch proved unstoppable on this night, getting three of those goals and adding an assist, with Sargeant adding a goal (giving her six for the season) and Wentworth also finding the net. Donahue contributed another assist.
It was Solvay’s misfortune to face the other local Class B power, Westhill, on Tuesday night, and though the game was closer, the Bearcats still lost to the Warriors 3-1.
Essentially, Lindsey Lippert won it for Westhill. The ultra-talented senior forward scored twice in the first half, and then tacked on another goal for the hat trick in the second half.
Against that assault, the Bearcats did get on the board in the latter stages when Antonacci fed Gianna Yiazzo for a goal, but it wasn’t enough. Goalie Chelsie Delperuto recorded 10 saves.
Westhill went from there to its own big win over Phoenix, 8-0, in its home opener on Thursday, where the team collected clothing items to the Salvation Army as part of the school’s annual Back to School Clothing Drive.
The game itself saw eight different players – Lindsey Lippert, Kelly Lippert, Tatiana Molds, Shelby Stack, Isabella Haber, Grace Powers, Abbie Carkner and Brianna Eassa – earn the eight Westhill goals as part of a 24-shot attack. Molds added a pair of assists.
And all of this leads to Tuesday night, and the first of two regular-season showdowns between the Warriors and Mustangs on Westhill’s home turf, which kicks off at 7:30.
