CAZENOVIA — Each of the Cazenovia soccer teams made it through their opening-round games in the Section III Class B playoffs, and one of them took it a step further.
The boys Lakers were the no. 10 seed and made an impressive showing on the road last Wednesday, traveling to no. 7 seed Phoenix and handling the Firebirds 4-0.
Two goals in each half proved plenty as Brody Coleman converted twice, with Dan Milison adding a goal and two assists.
Forrest Ives had the other goal, with J.D. Dolly and Jackson Wright also earning assists.
In the quarterfinals three days later, Cazenovia went north and looked to upend no. 2 seed South Jefferson, who had beaten the Lakers 2-0 earlier in the month.
This one belonged to Cazenovia, though, as by a 3-1 margin it advanced to take on Westhill in this week’s semifinal round.
Coleman put the Lakers on the board less than two minutes into the game, and Dolly converted near the midway point of the first half.
Down 2-0, South Jefferson answered Dolly’s goal with one from Richard Williams, and spent most of the rest of the game trying to pull even.
Cazenovia’s defense held firm, though, and Dolly clinched it with his second goal of the afternoon with 2:40 left.
As the no. 8 seed in Class B, Chittenango earned a shot at top seed and state no. 1-ranked Skaneateles with last Wednesday’s 4-0 shutout over no. 9 seed Canastota.
Led by Arthur Paul, who scored twice, the Bears built a comfortable 3-0 margin by halftime. Ella Bonelli got a goal, as did Andrew Graf, with Jacob Scheidelman gaining a pair of assists.
Against Skaneateles, Chittenango played superb defense, keeping the game scoreless in the first half.
Owen Cheney’s goal early in the second half got the Lakers in front, and despite several Bears opportunities, it could not pull back even, the 1-0 loss ending a season where it put up an 11-6-1 overall record.
Meanwhile, the Cazenovia girls soccer team would go 1-1 in sectional play, first prevailing 4-1 over Christian Brothers Academy in last Tuesday’s playoff opener.
But that success would not carry over as, on Thursday, the Lakers fell to no. 1 seed Central Valley Academy by that same 4-1 margin and close out its season with a 7-10 record.
