To its immense credit, the Marcellus girls soccer team managed to play undefeated, state no. 1-ranked Schalmont on even terms for 79 of the 80 minutes of Tuesday night’s Class B regional playoff game at Stillwater High School.
But what happened in that other minute ended up making the difference for the Mustangs in a 2-1 defeat to the Sabres as the dream of a fourth state championship to go with the ones earned in 1989, 2003 and 2004 dissipated.
Up until the regional round, the Mustangs had not allowed a goal in the post-season, blanking Clinton (1-0), Skaneateles (2-0) and Westhill (1-0 again) on the way to reclaiming the Section III Class B title.
Schalmont, the Section II champions, knew all of this, and pushed hard at the outset. Just 57 seconds into the game, Sydnee Metzold found space in front of the Mustangs’ net and delivered a header that eluded Marcellus goalkeeper Meg Blystone and found the net.
Like so many others that take long road trips, it took a while for the Mustangs to find some rhythm, but once it did, some opportunities opened up against the Sabres, leading to a stalemate that covered much of the rest of the first half.
Still, Schalmont stayed in front, continually testing Blystone, whose six saves included a point-blank stop late in the half. And with 3:11 left in the half, Davia Rossi got loose on a breakway, ran in alone and slid the ball past Blystone.
Those two well-timed goals, one at the start of the half and the other in the latter stages of the half, could easily have demoralized Marcellus far beyond the 2-0 deficit it faced going into halftime.
But the Mustangs would not quit. Alana Montreal, Keelin Kelly, Maddy LoCrasto and the rest of the Marcellus defenders made sure the Sabres didn’t add to its margin in the second half, and Emily Buschbascher, taking over in goal, stopped all four direct shots she faced.
With time to rally, Marcellus did get within one with 13:50 left on Madi Belvito’s goal. Now, though, it was Schalmont’s defense assuring that the Mustangs didn’t force overtime, as Sabres goalie Alexis Ryder made eight saves overall.
So ended a 14-2-4 season for the Mustangs where its only defeats came against undefeated opponents, Schalmont and Jamesville-DeWitt,
And now Marcellus faces an exodus of 13 seniors, including Belvito, Kelly, LoCastro, Blystone, Buschbascher, Jada Sargeant, Alana Montreal, Mia Montreal and Shannon White, It will be up to the likes of Liz White and Taylor Gould to maintain the Mustangs’ high level of play in 2016.
