With its 8-1 run through the first half of the regular season, the Jamesville-DeWitt girls soccer team safely placed itself in the no. 5 spot in the state Class A rankings and were eager to run through all of its remaining OHSL Freedom division foes.
And none was more welcome to see than Christian Brothers Academy, with the Red Rams and Brothers getting together last Thursday night at Alibrandi Stadium. With a prospect of a much-needed week off on the horizon, J-D ran all over the Brothers and didn’t let up until it had won by an 8-0 margin.
These teams had not met since last fall’s Section III Class A quarterfinal. J-D won on that occasion, 5-0, and matched that total in this game early in the second half, not stopping there as Alex Catanzarite led the charge, earning a three-goal hat trick.
Ali Durkin chimed in by scoring twice. Alex Epifani, Angela Bussone and Sydney Baker put in one goal apiece, while Sophia Dimkopoulos, Lainey Foti, Sydney Tanner and Tonia Kousmanidis each finished with one assist. Combined, CBA goalies Catherine Burns and Sydney Benedict had 10 saves.
Oswego paid a visit to J-D last Tuesday afternoon, and it didn’t take long for the Rams to take over, thanks to a trio of first-half goals that led to a comfortable 4-0 shutout of the Buccaneers.
Overall, J-D took 21 shots, and got its goals from four different players. Durkin had a goal and assist, while Catanzarite, Dimkopoulos and Tanner took their turns finding the net, too. Only the 17 saves from Oswego goalie Sarah Smolinski kept it from getting more lopsided.
This followed the Rams’ impressive Sept. 17 win over previously unbeaten West Genesee, while CBA was finding its own way, tuning up for the J-D clash with last Tuesday’s 3-0 shutout over the Fulton Red Raiders.
Just like with J-D’s game against Oswego, control was asserted early, the Brothers up 2-0 by halftime and never getting caught as Grace Hulslander, Olivia Morganti and Katy Stanard took turns earning goals. Between them, Burns and Benedict made the six saves necessary for the shutout.
As East Syracuse Minoa has to wait until Oct. 8 to get its shot at J-D, it showed impressive form against other opponents, including last Tuesday’s home tussle with Auburn where a second-half blitz led to a 7-1 romp over the Maroons.
A key moment came early. Lauren Ott’s goal had put the Spartans up 1-0, but Auburn had countered with Lexi Mitchell finding the net. The fact that Franchesca Polcaro answered within seconds of Mitchell’s goal to break the temporary tie would end up demoralizing the Maroons, though not right away.
Still up by that 2-1 margin at halftime, ESM began to run away when Ott converted again a minute into the second half. Gradually, the pressure started to wear on Auburn’s defenses, and that led to four goals in the last 11 minutes – two straight from Marissa Greiner, another from Polcharo and a third from Ott for the hat trick.
Helping out her sister, Mallory Ott finished with a pair of assists. Kat Boland also had an assist as Riley Abbot, playing most of the game in goal, recorded seven saves.
When it hosted Oswego two days later, the Spartans won big again, nearly getting to double digits as it bashed the Buccaneers by a 9-0 margin more than twice as big as what J-D had done earlier in the week.
Polcaro got it going with back-to-back goals in the first half, with Lauren Ott also finding the net and Olivia McEachron contributing a goal to make it 4-0 at halftime. More would follow as Ott scored twice more for a hat trick, adding a pair of assists, while Greiner also notched two goals and Maddy Hartung converted, with Sophia Orlando contributing an assist.
ESM then met Homer on Saturday morning and made it a perfect three-for-three week by ripping the Trojans 5-1, though this one proved a bit tougher because Mollie Ferrito’s goal had helped Homer forge a 1-1 halftime tie.
Once more, though, the Spartans’ attack proved too much to handle. Greiner and Polcharo led a second-half blitz as each of them finished with two goals, with Mallory Ott adding a goal and two assists. Claire Maring and Lauren Ott each had one assist.
On Monday night, ESM would make its own trip to CBA, and then return home Thursday to face Mexico. Two more weeks of action remain before the Oct. 8 showdown between the Spartans and J-D.
