For the faithful Skaneateles boys soccer followers who stuck it out on a cold, windy and wet Saturday evening at Hyatt Stadium, they got rewarded with another post-season victory – but not without a lot of anxiety.
The no. 3 seed and defending champion Lakers met no. 6 seed Holland Patent in the Section III Class B quarterfinals in a game that was in doubt for quite a while before one singular outburst changed the whole scope of the contest, and ultimately produced a 2-0 victory over the Golden Knights.
Just nine teams qualified for the sectional tournament in Class B. Thus, Skaneateles didn’t have to worry about an opening-round game, and was able to rest for more than a week following a win over West Genesee in its Oct. 15 regular-season finale.
By the time they kicked off with Holland Patent, Skaneateles was eager to start, but the layoff may have caused a bit of rust, for no matter what it tried during the first half, the Lakers couldn’t solve the Golden Knights’ defensive puzzle, leaving the game at 0-0 going to the break.
Deep into the second half, it remained that way, and concerns began to arise over whether the Lakers were going to break through or have that momentary lapse that could lead HP to attack, put one in the net and spring a big upset.
Then, with 18 minutes left, Sam Clymer, a veteran with plenty of big post-season plays on his resume, fired one past Golden Knights goalie Tucker Garrett into the net, putting Skaneateles in front. Just one minute later, the Lakers attacked again, and Reggie Buell beat Garrett for an insurance goal.
Nothing more was needed, and when it was done, Skaneateles could turn its full attention to a big-time sectional Class B semifinal Thursday night at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium against no. 2 seed Westhill, whom it played to a 0-0 draw on Sept. 5 and then beat, 2-1, on Oct. 1.
The winner between the Lakers and Warriors would meet top seed Lowville or no. 4 seed Marcellus in the sectional finals Nov. 2 at Fulton.
