Several programs appeared to stand in the way of the Cazenovia boys soccer team as it sought to rise to the top of the OHSL Liberty division and Section III Class B ranks – but two of them, in particular, symbolized the quest.
Westhill and Skaneateles have combined to win the last four sectional Class B titles. Skaneateles got the last two, but Westhill didn’t fall off too much, either, so Cazenovia understood that the Warriors were still a formidable obstacle.
This is what made last Monday night’s game against Westhill at the Sean Googin Sports Complex so impressive. Just as it had done against Marcellus on Sept. 9, Cazenovia tore out of the gate, but this time didn’t let the opposition recover, finishing off a 4-1 victory over the Warriors.
A diverse, aggressive Cazenovia attack took advantage of every possible Westhill defensive mistake in the first half. Ryan Modzeleski was the focal point, netting one goal and also assisting on tallies by Joe Spires and Chris Becker to create a 3-0 advantage at the break. John Williams was credited with an assist.
Yet the Lakers had also led Marcellus by that margin in its previous outing, only to hang on late and escape with a 3-2 win. Remembering that, Cazenovia continued its attack and, five minutes into the second half, made it 4-0 on Modzeleski’s second goal.
It wasn’t until the 63rd minute that the Warriors got on the board with Noah Rolince’s goal off a feed from Cameron Rudnick, but that was all Westhill could muster. Thomas Bragg only had to make five saves as Cazenovia’s defense did a strong job of protection throughout the night.
Still at home Friday night, Cazenovia, not looking ahead to Tuesday’s trip to Skaneateles, rolled past Blessed Virgin Mary 4-0 as it scored twice in the first half and twice more after intermission to pull away from the Saints.
And much of the night belonged to Modzeleski, who bagged a three-goal hat trick and also assisted on Burke Regan’s goal. Twice, Regan assisted on Modzeleski’s scoring plays, while the Lakers’ defense held Blessed Virgin Mary to just two shots.
Aside from the trip to Skaneateles, Cazenovia will also visit Marcellus on Thursday night, which came more than a week after the Mustangs took on Chittenango and beat the Bears 4-1.
During a decisive first half, Chitteango fell behind, 3-0, and could not recover despite Seth Spurgeon’s late goal, assisted by Andrew Larsson. Justin Makowski made nine saves as four different players – Alec Stasyuk, Brendan Shanahan, Nick Zimmer and Noah LeFever – earned the four Marcellus goals.
Then the Bears were off until Saturday’s game at Phoenix, where it looked to break a five-game skid, but could not do so, falling 2-1 to the Firebirds.
Luke Schlacter’s first-half goal got Phoenix out in front, and though Spurgeon assisted on a goal by Keoni Saturnio in the latter stages, Schalcter found the net again, and it proved the game-winner as Firebids goalie Ryan Clark stopped 13 of the 14 Chittenango shots he faced. Makowski had seven saves.
It wouldn’t get easier for the Bears as it visited Westhill on Tuesday for its only scheduled game this week.
