Someone out there took notice of the Bishop Ludden boys soccer team’s 6-0 start, for it found itself placed at no. 5 in the state Class C rankings right before last Monday night’s game against Manlius-Pebble Hill.
Then the Trojans proceeded to nearly knock the Gaelic Knights off that pedestal, playing on even terms for most of the 80 minutes of regulation before a late goal allowed Ludden to turn back MPH 2-1.
During the first half, the Trojans got on the board with a goal from Ahmad El-Hindi, assisted by Sam Goldman. But Ludden converted, too, thanks to Justin Eisenhauer’s goal, and it stayed 1-1 until deep into the second half, MPH doing a superb defensive job as Stew Falso had seven saves.
But with 1:55 left in regulation, Ludden’s accumulated pressure paid off when Eric Emmons slipped a shot past MPH goalie Stew Falso. The Gaelic Knights’ pair of netminders, Peter Lockwood and Sean Merrill, matched Falso’s seven-save total.
As if that wasn’t stressful enough for Ludden, Wednesday’s game against visiting Bishop Grimes would go beyond regulation, but again the Gaelic Knights proved clutch and earned a 1-0 overtime victory over the Cobras.
All through the 80 minutes of regulation, Grimes and Ludden would go back and forth, neither side dominating the flow of play. Defensively, the Cobras were sound and consistent, protecting goalie Ian Denton, who only had to make seven saves.
However, none of Grimes’ six shots got past Lockwood, so it remained 0-0 until the first OT, when Ludden attacked again and Emmons, taking a pass from Kayleb Lopez, pushed one past Denton for the game-winner, Emmons’ second in three nights.
Ludden finally got a breather in Friday’s 6-0 shutout of Tyburn Academy, where Emmons took over. Not only did Emmons earn four goals, he assisted on the other two, by Lucas Sctuari and Liam Katko, as Scutari added two assists and Katko contributed one assist.
Amid a busy Thursday of action, Marcellus battled state Class b no. 19-ranked Cazenovia to a 1-1 draw, with the Mustangs getting the lead in the first half on Carter Austin’s unassisted goal.
To pull even, the Lakers required Justin Gagnon to convert in the second half off a feed from Hunter Sattler. It went into overtime, but though Cazenovia took more shots, it couldn’t get anything more past Marcellus goalie Sam Hayduke, who had seven saves.
As a follow-up on Saturday, the Mustangs defeated Fowler 3-2 in overtime, seeing the Falcons rally from a 1-0 halftime deficit by converting twice in the second half while also netting another goal to set up the OT winner.
Austin, Mike Provvidenti and Alec Stasyuk had the goals, with Nick DiStefano adding an assist. Hayduke finished with 11 saves to overcome goals by Fowler teammates Sanjock Mangar and Mupenzi Irakiza.
The same Thursday that Marcellus tied Cazenovia, Westhill shut out Jordan-Elbridge by a 5-0 margin. It was only 1-0 at halftime as Eagles goalie Max Bondgren was accumulating 13 saves, but the Warriors got away in the late going.
Cameron Rudnick, with two goals and one assist, led Westhill’s attack. Evan Watt, Tim Carkner and Bernat Carbonell also scored, with Jack Miller, Braeden Elmer and Liam Ristoff getting one assist apiece.
Before meeting Westhill, J-E shut out Tyburn Academy 5-0 last Tuesday afternoon, doing so mostly on the good work of Riordan Parker, who notched a three-goal hat trick for the Eagles as Matt Blumer earned the other two goals. Colin Barrigar added two assists and Jakob Schwarting got a single assist.
Solvay took a 2-1 defeat to Phoenix last Monday, getting its lone goal from Nazar Trut off a feed from Nate Kosecki as Joe Guadagnolo made five saves, but saw the Firebirds win it thanks to John Garofalo, who scored one goal and assisted on the other, from Luke Schlachter.
Then defending Section III Class B champion Skaneateles blanked Solvay 3-0 on Thursday at Hyatt Stadium. Guadagnolo’s 13 saves kept most of the Lakers’ chances out, but goals by Christian Daley, Dylan Viscomi and Luke Palmer proved too much to overcome, Palmer adding an assist.
West Genesee got a chance to break out in last Tuesday’s game at Corcoran, and did so by nearly reaching double digits in a 9-2 romp over the Cougars.
Manny Castro set a career mark with four goals, but he was far from the only Wildcat finding the net. Oleg Borisiuk had two goals and one assist, while Joey Francisco and Lucas Sutherland both finished with a goal and two assists, Griffin Dombroske also had a goal as David Wenner and Peter Bowman combined for 14 saves.
It didn’t prove as easy at Swan Pond Friday night, where WG lost to Fayetteville-Manlius 5-1, though it was only a 1-0 game at halftime and Francisco did convert in the latter stages – but that came amid a late Hornets frenzy as Josh Mahr, with two goals, and Cole Teelin, with two assists, led the way.
