The notion of a second consecutive Section III Class B championship is quite real for the Skaneateles boys soccer team, especially given the way it has torn through opponent in the latter stages of the regular season.
Only once did the Lakers really stumble, in a 3-1 defeat to Massachusetts power Amherst on Oct. 10. And even that game was 0-0 at halftime before Amherst took over in the second half, taking full advantage of Skaneateles not having regular goalie Sam Smith and top midfielder Sam Clymer in the lineup.
That work culminated last Tuesday night, at Hyatt Stadium, where the latest Laker duel between Skaneateles and Cazenovia was in doubt for a long while until, again, the host Lakers got the best of it, pulling away in the second half for a 2-0 victory.
That game continued the trend of Skaneateles ending up on the right side of the ledger in its Laker duels with Cazenovia, which included three wins in 2014 (including the sectional final) and this season’s first meeting, a 3-2 thriller won by Skaneateles at the Sean Googin Sports Complex on Sept. 23.
The first half of this edition featured strong defense on both sides, and the game remained 0-0. Then, less than 10 minutes into the second half, a Cazenovia foul inside the 18-yard box gave Skaneateles a penalty kick that Jack Bailey converted.
For the rest of the game, Cazenovia did everything it could to pull even, but got thwarted, and Skaneateles sealed the outcome with Matt Neumann’s header, assisted by Luke Palmer, that found the net with 40 seconds left,
In a non-league game Thursday night, Skaneateles hosted West Genesee, who had just, in the previous week, defeated Westhill 2-1 and put a scare into Class AA favorite Liverpool before taking a defeat by that same 2-1 margin.
Here, the Lakers beat the Wildcats in another 2-0 decision, getting both of its goals in the first half as Tristan Cutler and Jack Kimm found the net, with assists credited to Palmer and Graham McCarthy. All told, Skaneateles took 16 shots, more than triple WG’s total, with the Lakers turning everything back thanks to Smith’s five saves.
With an 11-4-1 record, the Lakers could now focus on the sectional playoffs. Given the no. 3 seed, Skaneateles meets no. 6 seed Holland Patent in the quarterfinals, with the winner advancing to a semifinal against Westhill or Cazenovia.
