Twelve months later, on the same grounds at Middletown High School where it got run over by Mattituck in last fall’s state Class B semifinals, the Skaneateles boys soccer team was bound and determined to write a different conclusion and capture a second state Class B championship to go with the one it earned in 2010.
Instead of redemption, though, the Lakers felt even more pain.
That was because, in this version of the state Class B semifinals that took place Saturday afternoon, Skaneateles dominated much of the flow of play against Section VII champion Plattsburgh, only to falter just enough in the game’s middle stages to suffer a 2-1 defeat to the Hornets.
As the game kicked off, it was quickly apparent that the Lakers weren’t going to sit back and wait for something to happen. Instead, it peppered Plattsburgh with a series of runs, forcing the Hornets’ defense, anchored by goalie J.D. Side, to work hard just to keep it 0-0.
Twice, Skaneateles got within inches of moving in front, only to have Side deflect shots by Matt Benson and Jack Bailey to the crossbar, from which they caromed away from the net.
Through all this, the Lakers remained patient, figuring that, as long as it kept Plattsburgh’s chances to a minimum, at some point it would convert and move out in front.
But with 20 seconds left in the first half, everything changed. The Hornets attacked, sending a ball to the left side of the goal crease. When Skaneateles goalie Sam Smith tried to meet it, Plattsburgh’s Hannes Kruzman got there first and, with a deft touch, found the net, the firs t time the Lakers had allowed any goal since Oct. 10.
Not expecting to face a 1-0 halftime deficit, Skaneateles saw things get worse less than five minutes into the second half, and again Kruzman delivered the blow, placing himself in front of Smith and, taking a pass right in front of Smith, putting in his second goal.
Combining aggression with a sense of desperation, Skaneateles increased the pressure even more. Midway through the second half, it allowed the Lakers to cut the deficit back to one as Reggie Buell, bouncing upon the rebound of Bailey’s original shot on a corner kick, put it past Side.
With speed and skill, Skaneateles kept the Hornets pinned in its own end, eventually accumulating 11 corner kicks. Still, Plattsburgh held on, deftly clearing it out in the final minutes and, again, leaving the Lakers two victories short of the big prize.
Plattsburgh didn’t stop there, either, going on to beat East Aurora (Section VI) to win the state title, leaving the Lakers to again wonder about those missed opportunities.
Now the challenge for Skaneateles after this 15-5-1 season is to try and replace a group of 12 seniors, which includes Smith, Bailey, Sam ClymDuggan, Shawn Palmer, plus captains Sam Clymer, Reece Eddy, Graham McCarthy and Kevin Danaher. Having the likes of Buell, Benson and Matt Neumann back in 2016 will help, though.
