A deep run for the Cazenovia girls soccer team in the Section III Class B playoffs hinged entirely on pulling off, arguably, the biggest upset in the program’s history.
So the no. 7 seed Lakers went after no. 2 seed and defending champion Marcellus Thursday night in the Class B quarterfinals, but just could not break through against the Mustangs, taking a 4-0 defeat to complete its season with a record of 13-4.
Just getting a shot at Marcellus required the Lakers to defend its home field against no. 10 seed Solvay in last Tuesday night’s opening-round game at the Sean Googin Sports Complex.
Cazenovia beat the Bearcats 6-0, but it wasn’t that lopsided in the first half. In fact, the game was still scoreless when, in the 19th minute, Abbie McEntee headed a free kick toward Audrey Burbidge, who put away the game’s first goal.
As it turned out, the Lakers gained a lot of momentum from its defensive work late in the half, when Solvay went all-out and forced a trio of corner kicks, unable to convert any of them as Brandy Pidkaminy also just missed the net before they went to the break.
Scared straight, Cazenovia went out and, just 26 seconds into the second half, saw Burbidge’s shot bounce off the hands of Solvay goalie Chelsie Delperuto into the net to make it 2-0.
Within three minutes, it was 3-0, Clare Costello converting off another mishandled shot, and a handball inside the 18-yard box led to Lauren Mapstone’s successful penalty kick.
That eight-minute spurt gave the Lakers a 4-0 edge that proved insurmountable, though Isabella Quattrone and eighth-grader Jamie Joseph both added late goals.
Joseph, who had started several games in goal when Maggie Johnson was out with an injury, was back in the field as Johnson pitched a shutout, stopping all five shots she faced.
And now the Lakers went after Marcellus, whom it lost to 4-0 back on Oct. 12. On that same turf, Cazenovia would face that exact same result.
Thanks to its vaunted ball-possession game, the Mustangs kept the ball away from Burbidge, McEntee and Saige Ackermann, and constantly attacked from the start. That led to a goal in the 14th minute, Jada Sargeant finishing off a breakaway she shared with Emma Blystone.
It was still 1-0 when, in the 30th minute, Marcellus earned a free kick. Brielle Filtch took it, and when Johnson could not handle the ball, it trickled into the net, making it 2-0, where it stood at halftime.
Early in the second half, the Lakers, trying to move forward, got caught in its back line, leading to yet another fast break that Filtch finished off after deft passes from Sargeant and Madison Belvito. Sargeant would get a second goal in the 59th minute to close out the scoring.
Having gone 9-6-3 the year before, Cazenovia’s four-win improvement could only mark the beginning.
McEntee departs, as does Mapstone and Quattrone, but a large returning cast, including Burbidge, Johnson, Joseph, Ackermann, Clare Costello, Casey Crawford, Sam Gates, Grace Milmoe, Meg Romagnoli and Lizzy Bigsby, makes the Lakers a team to beat in 2014.
