One of the major obstacles the Liverpool girls soccer team knew it would have to climb over to earn a third consecutive Section III Class AA title was its neighbors from Cicero-North Syracuse.
The two rivals would finally meet Friday night, at Archie Hall Stadium, and it was the Northstars earning, arguably, its biggest win of the season, playing superbly in all phases of the game to shut out the Warriors 2-0.
By far, the biggest standouts for C-NS on this night were its defensive line. Mary Kate Ordway, Chloe Lonergan, Abby Tolbert, Sam Foley and Meghan Duffy combined to lock down Liverpool’s aggressive forwards, breaking up scoring chances along the way and making sure that goalie Alyssa Jim only had to make four saves.
The Northstars, meanwhile, kept the pressure on the Warriors’ freshman goalie, Isabel Anjorin. And though Anjorin would finish with 11 saves, she allowed one goal in each half as Marissa Rio and Stephanie Liberati found the net, Hanna Haven earning an assist.
Perhaps the Warriors had some fatigue, as it nearly got tripped up two nights before the C-NS battle, having gone to Auburn and required overtime to pick up a 4-2 victory over the Maroons.
Proving that its 7-3 record was far from a fluke, Auburn traded goals with the Warriors throughout regulation, as Julia Rescott got credit for one of the tallies. Also, the Maroons’ defense withstood a relentless assault, Ally Nicolisi finishing with 20 saves.
Still, the Warriors stayed patient, and managed a goal in each of the 10-minute OT periods to pull in front for good. Alexis Kline had one goal and one assist, with Leanne Barnard, Logan Rubio and Morgan Wright also finding the net. Sophomore Julia Richey, taking her turn in goal, had eight saves.
C-NS, by contrast, had an easy time of it in last Tuesday’s 10-0 destruction of Central Square that featured Liberati’s natural hat trick.
Before the Red Hawks could settle in, Liberati already had a goal, and she would tack on two more in the first half alone, with Hanna Haven also finding the net to make it 4-0 at halftime.
Then the rest of the Northstars joined in the fun to take the margin to double digits. Liberati chimed in with a fourth goal, but Haven scored again, too, as she also picked up three assists.
Reid Garner, with a goal and two assists, and Ordway, with one goal and one assist, had solid showings, too, with Lonergan and Ariah Rosas picking up single goals and Foley finishing with a pair of assists.
