With a regular-season slate that, at times, got ridiculous in its degree of difficulty (eight games in 12 days) finally behind them, the Skaneateles boys soccer team could now focus on what it’s wanted all along – a third consecutive Section III Class B championship.
The Lakers’ final regular-season home game would come last Tuesday night against Chittenango, and with a full week of much-needed rest and recovery behind them, Skaneateles went back on the field and bashed the Bears 7-0.
Jon Metz got the fun started with a goal early in the second half. Then Jeff Palmer found the net, with Tristan Custer tacking on a goal that gave the Lakers a 3-0 edge going into halftime.
Chittenango would not falter in its effort, but Skaneateles more than doubled its margin anyway in the second half. Reggie Buell, assisted by Custer, made it 4-0, followed by Custer converting on a penalty kick as Palmer and Max Moss contributed late goals. Buell, Luke Palmer, Dylan Viscomi and Joe Asucio earned one assist apiece.
Two days later, the Lakers hosted Jordan-Elbridge and closed the regular season with another smashing effort, scoring four times in the first half and, while easing up a bit in the late going, still earning a 5-0 shutout of the Eagles.
All told, Skaneateles made 24 shots, so it required J-E goalie Max Bondgren to earn 19 saves just to keep it from getting more lopsided. Still, Buell would notch a pair of goals, with Matt Benson stepping up to earn a goal and two assists. Custer added one goal and one assist as Luke Palmer and Matt Neumann also earned assists.
With an overall record of 10-3-3, Skaneateles found out that it had the no. 3 seed for the sectional Class B tournament. Since 14 teams made the tournament, only no. 1 seed South Jefferson and no. 2 seed Westhill got first-round byes.
The possibility of a Westhill-Skaneateles semifinal, given the close nature of their first two meetings, is exciting, but first the Lakers had to get past no. 14 seed Vernon-Verona-Sherrill in Wednesday night’s opening round, and then a quarterfinal against no. 6 seed Watertown IHC or no. 11 seed Holland Patent.
