All of those victories, and the possibility that it could finish the regular season undefeated, have lifted the Fayetteville-Manlius boys soccer team all the way to no. 4 in the state Class AA rankings.
A big obstacle to that perfect mark loomed in the future – Friday’s regular-season finale against defending sectional champion Baldwinsville at Swan Pond.
F-M almost didn’t get there unblemished, though, pushed into double overtime by visiting Nottingham in a wild, back-and-forth battle last Saturday before Jules Ngadula’s goal won a 3-2 decision over the Bulldogs.
Back when they met on Sept. 11 at Nottingham, F-M had to work hard to prevail 2-1 in regulation, and the rematch was no different, a physical battle that grew contentious at times, but was never dull.
Late in the first half, Tysen Tresness bent a beautiful free kick just inside the right post putting the Hornets up 1-0, but Nottingham countered when Jerome Ntakirutimana powered a 45-yard free kick into the top right corner of the net five minutes later. They stayed tied, 1-1, at halftime.
F-M went back in front in the 49th minute when a Bulldogs handball inside the 18-yard box gave Tresnsess a penalty kick that he converted. The Hornets had many chances to pull away, but kept getting stopped by Bulldogs goalie Bhuwan Basnet, who had 11 saves.
Another long Nottingham free kick, with 4:23, led to Ntakirutimana placing another perfectly placed ball just over the reach of Hornets goalie Ben Obrist inside the top right-hand corner, creating a 2-2 tie and the need for overtime.
Thwarted several times in the first extra period, F-M kept pressuring, and with 5:58 left in the second OT, a rebound of Adam Bem’s corner kick went out to Ngadula, who fit a header over Basnet’s reach into the net to help F-M reach 14-0.
By contrast, in last Monday’s visit to Central Square, F-M was in full command during a 4-0 shutout of the Red Hawks. The Hornets took 20 shots on the night, and may have gone much further in front without the work of Central Square goalkeeper Dakota Williams, who made 16 saves.
Ngadula broke through with a pair of goals, while Dante Pavone earned one goal and one assist. Tressness had the other goal as Bem picked up a pair of assists.
Battling just to reach the sectional playoffs, F-M’s girls soccer team took a hit last Monday night, at Auburn, where a late surge by the Maroons led to a 2-0 defeat.
Neither team scored in the first half, with F-M getting lots of chances, but unable to put anything past Auburn goalkeeper Ally Nicolisi, who would finish with seven saves.
Then, in the second half, the Maroons got on top, thanks to Michaela Breeze, who put in one goal and assisted on the other, by Marguerite Cuddy. F-M could not respond.
Fortunately for the Hornets, it faced the combined Syracuse city team on Thursday, right after Syracuse had taken a 12-0 defeat to Liverpool.
F-M would hit double digits, too, slamming Syracuse 10-1 by pouring in six unanswered goals during the first half, and continuing to build from there.
In particular, Sarah Olick-Sutphen stood out, setting a career mark with five goals, plus an assist, her passes often coming from Ani Villalba, who had a career-best four assists.
Alexandra Vinci found the net twice, with Jamison Seabury picking up one goal and one assist. Gianna LaRocca and Mirren Galway had the other goals. Jane Cote and Brittney Cross also made it to the assist column.
Even more important was the Hornets’ game against visiting West Genesee on Saturday night, a tense battle that would end in a 1-1 draw, with both goals scored in the first half before long stalemate set in. At 5-7-3, F-M hosts Liverpool in Tuesday’s regular-season finale.
