All through a 12-4 regular season, the Cazenovia boys soccer team worked hard to set up a possible return to the Section III Class B title game after losing that final to Westhill a year ago.
But the Lakers never got that far.
Despite a no. 3 seed and first-round bye, despite home-field advantage and despite the confidence gained from a pair of regular-season victories, Cazenovia lost, 1-0, in overtime to no. 6 seed Marcellus in the Class B quarterfinals last Friday night at the Sean Googin Sports Complex.
Rested and prepared, the Lakers knew that, in two previous meetings with Marcellus this fall, it never allowed a goal, blanking the Mustangs 1-0 on Sept. 4 and 2-0 a few weeks later.
And Cazenovia didn’t allow a goal to Marcellus (who beat Adirondack 5-0 in the first round) in regulation here, either. But through 80 minutes of regulation, the Lakers and Mustangs fought each other and the elements – cold temperatures, occasional precipation and gusty winds.
Neither side broke, at least from a defensive standpoint, the game staying 0-0 as the tension only grew. Cazenovia’s goalie, Garrett Clabeaux, made four saves, two less than Marcellus counterpart Ian LaFever.
Then, just 45 seconds into the first of two 10-minute sudden-victory overtime periods, Geoff Golick, who had a three-goal hat trick against Adirondack, took a long shot from at least 25 yards out that bent out of the reach of Clabeaux and found the top right corner of the net.
That single shot left the Lakers dispirited and stunned, a bright season ending in a flash as the Mustangs advanced to the semifinal sectional round and Cazenovia ended with a 12-5 mark.
