No one doubts anymore whether the Cazenovia boys soccer team can battle for top honors in the OHSL Liberty division – and, perhaps, much more.
If any of those doubts remained, they were dashed by Tuesday night’s 1-0 shutout over defending Section III Class B champion Westhill at the Sean Googin Sports Complex.
True, the Warriors lost 13 seniors from that 2013 team that advanced all the way to the state title game, but it still was dangerous enough that Cazenovia had to bring its best effort – which it did.
Cazenovia played Westhill to a standstill in the first half-hour, and in the 30th minute broke through when Derek White, taking a feed from Peter Burr, flung a shot past Warriors goalie Antonio Scrimale.
From that point forward, Westhill’s defense slammed the door on Cazenovia, doing an especially good job containing top Lakers forward Tyler Modlezeski. Whenever shots did reach the net, Scrimale scooped them up, finishing with 11 saves.
The Warriors’ problem, though, was that it could not apply any sort of pressure of its own. Every time it went into Cazenovia’s end, the defenders broke up attempts, making sure that its goalie, Garrett Clabeaux, did not have to work too hard.
Moving out of league play on Thursday night, Cazenovia took on Camden, and found a lot more room to attack, leading to a 5-0 shutout of the Blue Devils.
Again, the Lakers’ brother tandem proved lethal, as Tyler Modlezeski scored twice and Ryan Modzeleski finished with one goal and one assist. But they didn’t work alone, since Cole Willard and David Kempf also scored, with Mason Stehle and George Betouaem adding assists.
Cazenovia, with its 7-1 mark at its midway point of the regular season, plays three more times next week, meeting Rome Free Academy Monday and Homer Saturday at the Googin Complex, with a Wednesday trip to Jordan-Elbridge in between.
