This was not 2013, when the Westhill boys soccer team rode an undefeated mark to the Section III Class B championship and then carried it all the way to the state title game.
Instead, the Warriors carried the no. 6 seed into the sectional tournament, and would have to win one tough road game against no. 3 seed Clinton on Saturday afternoon just to get into the tournament’s second week.
And it was something that Westhill could not pull off, as the other Warriors team broke open a close contest in the second half and prevailed by a 3-1 margin.
Much of the focus was on how Westhill’s defense would fare against Clinton forward Gavin Gleasman, the school’s all-time leading goal-scorer.
For a half, the containment mostly worked, Clinton only scoring once as Westhill’s Steven Bailey found the net, too, assisted by Michael Robinson, leaving it 1-1 going to the break.
Antonio Scrimale would make saves, but still see Clinton move out in front with a pair of second-half scoring plays. And though Gleasman had one goal and one assist, Jack Hughes and Matt Martini also scored, too, for the host Warriors.
Things went smoothly in last Wednesday night’s opening round, though, as Westhill, on its home turf, dispatched no. 11 seed Lowville 4-0.
Taking 19 shots overall, the Warriors converted twice in each half, seeing Holden White earn a pair of goals to lead the way. Jake Etoll and Nick Colella had one goal apiece, with Robinson, Connor Schwartz and Braeden Elmer picking up assists. As it turned, that was Westhill’s last win of the season, the loss to Clinton leaving them with a final mark of 10-6-1.
Solvay also intended to make some noise and surprise people as the no. 7 seed in Class B, and its big test would come in Friday night’s quarterfinal against no. 2 seed Skaneateles at Hyatt Stadium, the same team that had beaten the Bearcats 4-1 just eight days earlier at Al Merola Field.
Here, much to Solvay’s dismay, the margin remained the same, only this time Solvay did not even get on the board, its season ended in a 3-0 defeat to the Lakers.
As it worked through the game’s early stages, Solvay tried to establish its attack, but Skaneateles would not let them, and then caught a break when, taking a pass from Sam Clymer, a shot by Jack Bailey in the 13th minute deflected off a Bearcats player into the net.
That own goal was discouraging, but Solvay kept it a one-goal game until the last 90 seconds of the half, when Andrew Weiss, taking a feed from Bailey, fired a shot past Bearcats goalie Joe Reale, doubling the margin to 2-0 at the break.
And Bailey still wasn’t done. During the 64th minute, with Solvay’s attack continuing to be quiet, Bailey parked himself near the net, this time getting the well-timed pass from Eli Goodell before beating Reale for the night’s final goal. Two nights earlier, the Bearcats were dominant in its first-round game against no. 10 seed Adirondack, attacking from the outset and blanking the Wildcats 6-0.
Before the first half was over, it was already 4-0, and Solvay didn’t let up, seeing Ruslan Sovloskiy and Layth Karim each score twice, with Sovloskiy adding an assist. Owen Ryan had a goal and two assists as Nazar Trut managed one goal and one assist.
The loss to Skaneateles meant that Solvay’s season ended with an 8-9-1 mark.
