Thanks to that big 2-1 victory at Westhill on the first day of October, the Skaneateles boys soccer team again found itself a target, but it didn’t mind, especially when it still had some unfinished business on the agenda.
And nothing to the Lakers was more important than getting even with archrival Marcellus – which it did in an emphatic manner last Thursday night at Hyatt Stadium, making Senior Night a happy one as Skaneateles rolled past the Mustangs 4-1.
Back on Sept. 17, the Lakers went to Marcellus and lost, 2-1. Much had changed in three weeks, though, and it didn’t take that long for Skaneateles to make the Mustangs notice those changes.
Following a patient start, the Lakers went in front, 1-0, in the 22nd minute on Graham McCarthy’s goal. Try as it could, Marcellus couldn’t keep it that way and, 90 seconds before halftime, Reggie Buell converted, doubling the Skaneateles margin.
Momentum carried over into the second half, where it took less than five minutes for Matt Benson to rip home his team’s third goal. Though Ross Filtch cut the margin to 3-1 with 14 minutes left, the Lakers made sure it didn’t get closer, and Tristan Custer tacked on a clinching goal with 2:48 left.
Before all this, the Lakers lost, 2-0, at defending Section III Class A champion Jamesville-DeWitt two days after the Westhill win. Then, in last Tuesday night’s visit to Jordan-Elbridge, things again were troubling for a while before Skaneateles straightened itself out and beat the Eagles 4-2.
Less than three minutes into the game, Benson scored, but J-E’s Russell Hines answered with a tying tally just 15 seconds later, and then converted again off a feed from Matt Blumer to put J-E up 2-1 – all before the game hit the seven-minute mark.
But the Eagles’ lead vanished when Skakneateles, applying pressure, forced a J-E foul inside the 18-yard box midway through the first half, which led to Custer’s converted penalty kick.
Five minutes later, Custer damaged J-E again, this time assisting on Ryan Bailey’s goal that put Skaneateles in front 3-2. From there, the Eagles stayed within range thanks to Max Bondgren’s seven saves, but Skaneateles not letting them catch up, and then tacking on a goal by Dylan Viscomi, assisted by Matt Neumann, in the final minute of regulation.
