Having struggled through its early part of the schedule with a 2-5-1 mark, the Manlius-Pebble Hill boys soccer team needed a jolt, and got one at home thanks to a second-half surge in last Monday’s game against Faith Heritage that produced a 3-1 victory over the Saints.

MPH had lost, 1-0, to Faith earlier in the month, and the rematch was 0-0 at halftime before the Trojans caught fire. Josh Hapko, Naldo Chen and Theo Eckert-Budis each landed goals as Sam Goldman earned an assist, all of which helped MPH overcome a late goal by the Saints’ Parker Bowden.

Bishop Grimes was in a much better position as September concluded, in part due to the impressive road win it earned last Tuesday night when it went to Tully and, with a big second half, defeated the Black Knights 3-1, the same margin by which the Cobras lost to Tully back on Sept. 7.

Due to Matt Goddard’s early goal, Tully had it tied, 1-1, at halftime, but Grimes converted twice after the break in order to get even with the Black Knights.

Paul Kim led the charge, earning a pair of goals as Jake Zona got two assists. David Mo picked up a goal and Connor Alexander contributed an assist as goalie Ian Denton stopped nine of the 10 shots he faced.

Two nights later, Grimes faced another tough road trip to Fabius-Pompey, who had just played unbeaten, state no. 5-ranked Bishop Ludden to a 0-0 draw. The Cobras proved stingy on this night, but still lost, 1-0, to the Falcons as a second-half goal by Joe Alnutt, assisted by Adrian Villardi, helped F-P full through.

Less than 24 hours later, Grimes was back home, facing Cato-Meridian, and pulling out a 2-1 overtime victory that clinched a playoff berth by rallying from an early 1-0 deficit created when Zach Stahl scored for the Blue Devils, assisted by Austin Mack.

Deep into the second half, Grimes still trailed, but after a bunch of chances, it finally tied it 1-1 on a Zach Schell shot deflected into the net by a Cato player. And it prevailed when, midway through the first OT period,  Zona again offered a well-timed pass, crossing to the middle, where Mo put it past Cato goalie Trent Lunkenheimer to win it.

Just as September was drawing to a close, the MPH girls soccer team was starting to show some really good form, as evidenced by last Monday afternoon’s trip to LaFayette where a first-half blitz led to a 4-0 victory over the Lancers to improve its record to 6-2.

All of the scoring damage was done in those first 40 minutes, with Maja Cannavo earning two of the Trojans’ four goals. The others went to Taylor Germaine and Maggie Sexton-Dwyer, with Maddie Mafrici getting two assists. Germaine and Julia Walsh had one assist apiece. Sarah Smith stopped all eight LaFayette shots she faced.

Bishop Grimes, meanwhile, was just 3-6 going into the week, but made its last game in September count as it bashed Tyburn Academy last Tuesday afternoon in a 7-0 decision.

Having gained confidence from a 2-0 shutout of Fabius-Pompey on Sept. 23, the Cobras zoomed past that goal total early in the first half at Tyburn and didn’t let up until it had a 5-0 advantage.

Rhonee Shea Pal and Julia Gnade both scored twice and earned one assist to pace this Grimes attack. Abby Tweedle, Molly McInerney and Analisa Sisera gained one goal apiece as Marissa Curtis stopped all four Tyburn shots she faced.

Two days later, Grimes slumped again in a 2-0 defeat to Cato-Meridian. The game was scoreless until the second half, when the Blue Devils’ Karleigh Phelps took over, notching one goal and assisting on Miranda Myhill-LaForce’s tally to overcome the 12 saves put up by Cobras goalie Marissa Curtis.