Amid strange circumstances, the Fayetteville-Manlius boys soccer team took its first loss of the season on Sept. 3 at the Gillette Road complex, where it fell to defending Section III Class AA champion Cicero-North Syracuse in a 3-2 thriller.
F-M had won big in its Sept. 1 opener at West Genesee, but C-NS attacked from the outset and it paid off, to the tune of a 2-0 advantage by the break. on goals by Cameron Houser and John Kurlya.
Those goals were needed, too, since the Hornets waged a spirited rally once the Northstars lost two players to red cards, tying it as Joe Falcone and Max Staniac both scored. Somehow, the Northstars regained the lead late in regulation with a counterattack that Nolan Byrnes finished off with a terrific shot from an odd angle that found the net, and held on at the end.
Now the Hornets came back to Swan Pond for last Tuesday’s home opener against Corcoran. Angry at the missed opportunity at C-NS, F-M took it out on the Cougars in a 6-0 shutout.
Josh Mahr got F-M on the board less than six minutes into the game. By halftime, it was 4-0, and by game’s end Mahr had added an assist as Cole Teelin scored twice. Falcone and Hunter Knutsen each had two assists as Will Gottheld and Logan McGinn put in goals and Luke D’Amato tacked on an assist.
In Saturday’s non-league showdown between neighbors F-M and Jamesville-DeWitt, the Hornets got the best of it, blanking the Red Rams 4-0.
Aggressive from the outset, F-M already had a 3-0 advantage by halftime. Teelin, Mahr and Staniac picked up those goals, with Nolan Chiles finding the net in the second half as Ryan Varley picked up a pair of assists. only the work of J-D goalie Tom Bonaccio, who made 14 saves, kept it from getting more lopsided.
Manlius-Pebble Hill played rival Faith Heritage to a 2-2 draw last Tuesday afternoon, each team scoring one goal in each half , though the Saints had more shots – 14, to the Trojans’ nine.
Theo Eckert-Budis converted for MPH and assisted on the other goal, by Josh Hapko. Faith’s goals came from Ezekiel Jackson and Joe Marziale, but it got nothing more past Trojans goalie Stew Falso, who had 12 saves.
Those struggles for MPH continued in last Thursday night’s 2-0 defeat to Bishop Ludden. Falso made nine saves, but surrendered one goal in each half as Lucas Scutari and Eric Emmons got on the board for the Gaelic Knights.
Bishop Grimes took its first defeat of the season on Sept. 2, falling 2-0 to Fabius-Pompey. The Falcons, a traditional Class C power, played a physical style that didn’t immediately affect the Cobras, since it was still 0-0 at halftime.
However, F-P remained patient and, in the second half, converted twice as Iran Perez-Velazquez and Sterling McDevitt earned the goals, with Jake Reinhard and Jameson Andrews earning assists. None of Grimes’ five shots got past Falcons goalie Jack Klawitter.
Hosting Tully last Wednesday, the Cobras took a 3-1 defeat to the Black Knights. By the time Deng Mawien scored off a feed from Zach Schell in the second half, Tully already had a winning margin thanks to Brendan Lyon’s pair of goals. Danny Gambell had the other goal.
This was just the first of three games in four days for Grimes, who would face Cato-Meridian on Friday and Oswego on Saturday, splitting those games.
It started with the Cobras outscoring Cato 7-3, overcoming defensive difficulties with sheer production. Up 4-1 by halftime, Grimes eventually saw six different players net goals, with only Connor Alexander finding the net twice against Blue Devils goalie Trent Lunkenheimer, who finished with 22 saves.
Jake Zona had one goal and one assist, while Joe Knapp, David Mo and Jeff Dargiewicz earned one goal apiece. Schell and Alex McDonald added assists. For Cato, Gavin Carvey and Chad Thompson each had one goal and one assist.
Things turned around Saturday, when Grimes lost, 4-0, to Oswego. No one on the Cobras’ defense could stop Buccaneers forward Restem Bouffard, who earned three of his team’s goals for a hat trick.
