Less than a week before the Section III Class B playoffs were to start, the Marcellus and Westhill girls soccer teams would meet once more, giving each other a full litmus test on the Mustangs’ Senior Night.
Of course, both teams had to make it through the preliminaries first, and state Class B no. 3-ranked Marcellus, playing on back-to-back nights, went to Phoenix last Wednesday and scored 11 goals in the first half on the way to a 13-1 romp over the Firebirds.
Jada Sargeant picked up three goals and one assist to lead the charge, while Laura Dailey, Sarah Sotelo and Karen Cramer each scored twice, Cramer adding an assist. Madi Belvito had a goal and two assists as Emme Blystone, Molly Tice and Jackie Madden also got goals. Keelin Kelly added two assists, with single assists credited to Brielle Filtch and Abby Fallon.
Marcellus would not get anywhere near that sort of production in Thursday night’s game at Bishop Ludden, but the Mustangs still had moments of magic in a 6-0 shutout of the Gaelic Knights.
In particular, Molly MacLachlan offered a gem late in the first half. With the Mustangs already up 1-0 thanks to Belvito’s goal, MacLachlan lined up a free kick from the left side. From 25 yards out, her hard, bending shot eluded Ludden goalie Gemma O’Kane, hit the right post and bounced into the net.
That gave Marcellus a 2-0 halftime edge, but it would keep adding to the total in the second half as MacLachlan tacked on a second goal and Filtch found the net twice. Sargeant contributed a goal as Blystone and Jordin Wentworth picked up assists.
Westhill, now with the no. 12 state Class B ranking, hosted Solvay last Tuesday night, and a dominant first half made all the difference as the Warriors beat the Bearcats 5-2.
During those first 40 minutes, Westhill toyed with Solvay’s defense and steadily worked its way to a 4-0 advantage, led by Lindsey Lippert and Jayanna Monds, as both of them would score a pair of goals by game’s end.
That, combined with Grace Powers’ goal, proved enough, even as Chelsie Delperuto twice found the net for the Bearcats in the second half to make it a bit closer.
From there, the Warriors ventured to Phoenix on Thursday afternoon, and it dominated the match from start to finish, as the 4-0 margin over the Firebirds proved a bit deceptive.
Brianna Squier, Phoenix’s goalie, made 22 saves to keep it from getting out of hand. Still, Westhill scored twice in each half as Kaelan Smith notched a pair of goals, with Monds and Lindsey Lippert earning the others. Powers and Kelly Lippert found their way to the assist column.
Jordan-Elbridge lost, 3-1, to state Class C no. 5-ranked Bishop Grimes on Wednesday night. Despite Alexis Fietta’s goal and Leah Wright’s 15 saves, the Eagles could not keep up with the Cobras as Kennedy Yearby scored twice and Toni Laneve had two assists.
But the Eagles rebounded Thursday for a 4-3 victory over the combined Syracuse city squad, inching in front 2-1 by halftime and matching Syracuse’s total the rest of the way, in large part due to the work of Alexis Rouse.
By the time she was done, Rouse had earned a three-goal hat trick, while Julie Hines picked up the other goal. Emmie Alessandro found the net twice in Syracuse’s effort.
The Eagles’ 1-2 week concluded with a 3-2 defeat to Hannibal, where it surged to a 2-1 halftime lead thanks to a pair of goals from Rouse, but could not hang on as Brittany Donohue, completing a hat trick, found the net twice in the second half, overcoming Wright’s nine saves.
Solvay, meanwhile, followed Marcellus and Westhill in beating Phoenix during this busy week, in this case a 7-2 romp that included five unanswered goals in a decisive first half that helped the Bearcats inch closer to a playoff berth.
Delperuto led the way again with three goals and one assist, while Nicole Antonacci and Abi Guinta both scored twice. Kelly Nolan joined Antonacci in the assist column.
