Ever since it got knocked off as a top seed in last fall’s Section III Class D playoffs, the Bishop Ludden boys soccer team readied itself for another championship push, only now it would happen in Class C.
The Gaelic Knights didn’t lose a game until the first week of October, when Faith Heritage (by a 2-0 margin) and Watertown IHC (by a 1-0 margin) both shut out Ludden, games which had the potential to derail a promising campaign.
This made last Tuesday’s game at Tully particularly important, and the Gaelic Knights rose to that challenge, edging the Black Knights 2-1 to complete a regular-season sweep that had started with a 3-2 win at home on Sept. 16.
Thanks to Dante Bertolo’s goal, Tully tied the game 1-1 after Ludden got on the board first. But the Gaelic Knights regained the lead and held on as John Saleski and Logan Katko, players not accustomed to making big offensive contributions, scored those goals, while Lucas Scutari earned an assist.
Ludden’s regular season concluded with another tough road rest Friday at Bishop Grimes, whom it beat in a 1-0 thriller three weeks earlier on Eric Emmons’ overtime goal. This one also proved close, and the Gaelic Knights didn’t win it, but at least it salvaged a 1-1 draw.
Due to Jake Zona’s goal, Grimes had a 1-0 halftime lead, but Ludden caught up when Lucas Scutari found the net in the second half. And it would stay even through the rest of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime, with few shots from either side thanks to effective defenses.
The finish did leave Ludden with a no. 4 seed when the sectional Class C playoff bracket was released – paired up with no. 13 seed Faith Heritage in Tuesday night’s opening round, so the Gaelic Knights get a chance to avenge its first defeat of the season in order to advance to a quarterfinal against no. 5 seed Westmoreland/Oriskany or no. 12 seed Little Falls.
West Genesee, and its season full of struggles, was encapsulated by last Tuesday night’s game at Henninger, yet another close call where the Wildcats were in the battle to the end, only to take defeat, this time by a 3-2 margin.
Seven of WG’s14 defeats this season came by a single goal, and on this night the Wildcats were tied, 1-1, at halftime before the Black Knights inched in front during the second half, with Vianey Botane and Dieu Mukwiye each earning one goal and one assist.
Thus, the Wildcats lost again, despite Joey Francisco scoring one goal and assisting on another, by Brendan Bresnahan. Plus, there was the combined work of goalies David Wenner and Peter Bowman, who had 18 total saves.
At least it ended well for the Wildcats with Thursday’s 4-1 win over Corcoran, but even this game was tense for a while, with K Paw Gay’s goal helping the Cougars tie it, 1-1, by halftime.
Taking over in the latter stages, WG scored three times in the second half, with Manny Castro ending up with a pair of goals as Bowman, starting in the field, added one goal and one assist. Oleg Borisiuk had the other goal as Francisco picked up an assist.
Jordan-Elbridge took a 3-1 defeat to Phoenix last Tuesday night, unable to catch up though it only trailed 2-1 at halftime. Max Bondgren made 13 saves, but John Garofalo scored twice to help the Firebirds prevail.
Two nights later, the Eagles visited two-time defending Section III Class B champion Skaneateles and took a 5-0 defeat, with much of the damage done when the Lakers scored four times in the first half.
Here, Bondgren had to make 19 saves to keep things reasonable. On the Skaneateles side, Matt Benson notched a goal and two assists, with Reggie Buell scoring twice and Tristan Custer getting one goal and one assist.
