Right after the Westhill boys soccer team turned back Marcellus 2-0 on Oct. 10, both sides would enter the last week of the regular season facing important tests against Laker teams – and kept on winning them.
The state Class B no. 7-ranked Warriors faced Cazenovia last Tuesday night and completed a regular-season sweep of those Lakers, prevailing by a score of 3-1.
Having prevailed 2-0 in their first meeting Sept. 19 at the Sean Googin Sports Complex, Westhill matched that goal-scoring output in the first half alone, only to have Ted Dwyer find the net to keep Cazenovia within range, 2-1, at the half.
Not panicking, the Warriors added an insurance goal early in the second half and maintained that margin the rest of the way, Jake Etoll leading the way with one goal and one assist. Barak BenYehuda and Tom Kinsella also found the net as the defense protected Chris Burrows, who only had to make four saves all night.
As that went on, Marcellus was busy completing its own regular-season sweep over a major rival, edging Skaneateles 2-1 in front of the Mustangs’ home fans to augment the 1-0 win earned at Hyatt Stadium back on that same Sept. 19 where Westhill first handled Cazenovia.
Where the games differed was the timing of the key plays. Marcellus and Skaneateles went to the second half still 0-0, but then the Mustangs broke through with goals from Geoff Golick and Adam Molinari, with Mark Tompkins adding an assist.
Skaneateles got on the board, too, thanks to Jack Bailey’s unassisted goal, but it could get nothing more, as each of Ian LaFever’s three saves would prove important.
From there, the Mustangs went on to blast Solvay 8-0 on Thursday night, breaking out in the latter stages of the game after grabbing a more modest 2-0 halftime lead.
Golick, in particular, stood out, earning a three-goal hat trick as Tompkins managed a goal and two assists. Evan Turner also had a pair of assists as Molinari got one goal and one assist. Goals also went to Nick Matro, Andrew Harold and Victor Stasguk.
Westhill also won on Thursday, bashing Jordan-Elbridge by that same 8-0 margin, only doing the work in reverse as it scored six times in the first half.
What’s more, those eight goals came from eight different players, from BenYehuda, Etoll, Kinsella and Matt Torak to the likes of Mike Parasczak, Carter McMahon and Nick Colella.
J-E (4-12) went from there to a 2-1 defeat to Bishop Grimes in Saturday’s season finale, seeing Colby Falcone score in the first half off a feed from Russell Hines for a 1-0 edge, only to have the Cobras get second-half goals from Nick Commisso and Dar Rinker to pull it out.
Bishop Ludden, who will have a spot in the sectional Class C tournament, gained another important win last Tuesday when it turned back Bishop Grimes 3-1. Steadily, the Gaelic Knights gained a 2-1 halftime edge, overcoming a goal by the Cobras’ Richie Kane with a well-balanced attack.
Ralph Romano, Joe Spano and Tom Muller earned Ludden’s goals, with Alan Roberts and Jon Dussing picking up assists. the Gaelic Knights’ defense also did a solid job of protection as goalie Matt Hughes only had to make five saves.
Ludden did lose 6-0 to Tully on Friday, Hughes getting six saves but watching as six different Black Knights – David Johnson, Steve Schoemaker, Chris Russell, Mike Brill, Mike Habtesion and Zack Swan – picked up the six goals.
Solvay, who was still trying to get its own post-season berth as the week got underway, had a setback before facing Marcellus. In last Tuesday’s game against Phoenix, the Bearcats took a 4-2 defeat to the Firebirds.
Despite a 1-12-1 record, Phoenix got goals from Kyle Demo, John Garofalo, Zach Schlachter and Ryan Wranesh, plus 15 saves from Bryce Plante, to overcome the efforts of the Bearcats As Jake Mrowinski scored twice, once in each half. Maid Kharamanovic added an assist as Joe Reale recorded 11 saves.
Westhill did draw the top seed for the sectional Class B tournament, headed for a quarterfinal against no. 8 seed General Brown or no. 9 seed Sherburne-Earlville. Marcellus, as the no. 6 seed, would need to beat no. 11 seed Adirondack in Tuesday’s first round to advance to a quarterfinal against no. 3 seed Cazenovia.
Ludden, like Marcellus, is a no. 6 seed in Class C, opening the sectional tournament against no. 11 seed Mount Markham on Tuesday, with a quarterfinal against no. 3 seed West Canada Valley waiting for the winner.
