On an important level, the Skaneateles boys soccer team of 2015 is starting to resemble its 2014 predecessors, perhaps proving itself as the single entity stopping a single opponent’s championship dreams.
A year ago, it was Cazenovia that beat everyone on its schedule – except Skaneateles, on three separate occasions, including the Section III Class B final.
Now, it’s Westhill finding the Lakers to be a singular impediment, going 9-0 against everyone else, but unable to beat Skaneateles on two occasions, including Thursday night’s game where the Lakers rallied and prevailed by a 2-1 margin.
Not only were the Warriors undefeated and no. 7 in the state Class B rankings, it hadn’t allowed a goal until its ninth game of the season, a single tally late in a 6-1 romp over Jordan-Elbridge earlier in the week.
But Skaneateles had played Westhill to a 0-0 deadlock on Sept. 5 amid broiling conditions (the heat index was close to 100 degrees) at Hyatt Stadium. Now, with temperatures 50 degrees cooler, the energy level picked up on both ends.
Through most of the game’s early stages, Skaneateles was on its heels, needing quality stops and some big saves from goalkeeper Sam Smith to keep it scoreless.
But in the 27th minute, Westhill’s Connor Schwartz was fouled inside the 18-yard box, leading to a penalty kick that Mike Lantry converted, sending left-footed shot past the diving attempt by Smith to stop it.
Less than five minutes later, though, the Lakers forced a corner kick. Matt Neumann took it, and fed it to the middle, where Luke Palmer offered a perfect header off the hands of Westhill goalie Antonio Scrimale and into the net, the first goal Scrimale had allowed this season.
Tied 1-1 at the break, Skaneateles seized the initiative in the second half, constantly forcing Scrimale to make all kinds of saves. But the pressure continued and, in the 61st minute, Dylan Viscomi fitted a low shot from the right side just inside the left post for the go-ahead goal.
And the Lakers knew what to do with that lead. Palmer, Sam Duggan and Reece Eddy formed a formidable defensive wall, never letting Westhill’s multiple attackers get too close as the stretch wore on and preserving the team’s biggest victory of the season so far.
Before all this, Skaneateles had tuned up by hosting Solvay last Tuesday night, a game where its defense again was superb, thwarting the Bearcats at every turn while getting enough on the other end to earn a 3-0 victory.
What helped that defense was the Lakers netting a pair of first-half goals and giving itself a cushion. Free to roam, Skaneateles did so, constantly making Solvay uncomfortable and holding it to a handful of offensive opportunities.
As that went on, Skaneateles saw Sam Clymer and Graham McCarthy each finish with one goal and one assist. Matt Benson also scored, which helped overcome the eight saves put up by Bearcats goalie Joe Reale.
Then, after conquering Westhill, Skaneateles met reigning sectional Class A champion Jamesville-DeWitt on Saturday afternoon, but there the momentum halted as the Lakers took a 1-0 defeat to the Red Rams.
Jake Socia’s first-half goal, assisted by Dean Kousmanidis, managed to hold up for the Red Rams, who saw its defense limit the Lakers to three shots all afternoon. Smith had to make six saves to keep J-D from getting away.
Even with that loss, though, Skaneateles took a 7-3-1 mark into the penultimate week of the regular season, which includes a Thursday-night visit from another big rival, Marcellus, who beat the Lakers 2-1 back on Sept. 17.
