Should the boys soccer teams from Skaneateles and Cazenovia find themselves in one more encounter during the upcoming Section III Class B playoffs, they’ll have a lot to resolve.
That was the takeaway from Monday night’s hard-fought 0-0 battle at Hyatt Stadium, where the two Laker rivals went at it for 100 minutes without putting a shot in the net, each settling for their first draw of the season.
These two had met back on Sept. 4, at the Sean Googin Sports Complex, with Skaneateles scoring two early goals and seeing them hold up in a 2-0 victory. Cazenovia had not lost since, and had risen to no. 8 in the state Class B rankings, one spot ahead of Skaneateles.
The rematch was originally set for Sept. 30, but a lightning storm in the area kept the two Lakers from ever taking the field. The ensuing 13 days brought more victories for both sides and only added to the hype.
No precipitation or electricity from the clouds was in Skaneateles on this night – just a heavy wind that forced both teams to play half the game behind it, and half the game into it.
Skaneateles, in the first half, and Cazenovia, in the second half, had the win at their backs, finding out that it was difficult to control any long pass or shot once the ball got caught in the breezes.
On the defensive side, Skaneateles concentrated on following Cazenovia’s forwards everywhere, especially leading scorer Tyler Modzeleski. When Modzeleski appeared to break in the clear midway through the first half, James Motyl tailed him until goalie Billy Patrick could pick up the ball.
Yet Modzeleski still ringed a free kick off the crossbar just before halftime, and runs from the likes of Peter Burr and Georges Betoubam stretched out the Skaneateles back line all through the game. But the hosts never broke once.
As for the other end of the field, Cazenovia challenged Skaneateles in space, and didn’t get rattled when, three times in the first half, Max Messie tried his flip-throw from the sidelines. Often, goalie Garrett Clabeaux would drift far out of the net, but managed to snare the ball.
All through the game, though, Clabeaux never had to make a save as tough as the one Patrick made, diving to his left to stop Burr midway through the second half. From there, most of the chances in regulation came through corner kicks that were easily turned back.
And during the 20 minutes of sudden-victory overtime, neither side would make a defensive mistake. Here, the wind was more of a factor, Skaneateles able to apply pressure with the breeze at its back in the first OT, and Cazenovia doing the same in the second extra frame, but neither succeeding.
Having moved to 13-1-1, Cazenovia was more likely to see the top seed in the sectional tournament over Skaneateles (11-2-2), especially since Clinton, the other main contender for the top seed, lost 3-0 to Utica Proctor on this same Monday night.
