A mere 10 days after playing to a 0-0 stalemate late in the regular season, the Westhill and Marcellus boys soccer teams gathered again on the same turf – and this time, someone had to win.
The no. 2 seed Warriors accepted the challenge of the no. 7 seed Mustangs last Friday night in the Section III Class B quarterfinals, and amid some of the season’s toughest conditions it nearly turned into a stalemate again before a single timely scoring play allowed Westhill to prevail 1-0.
Given that these teams knew each other so well, and given the combination of wind, rain and fast Field Turf to negotiate plus playoff pressure, it was little surprise that, again, the Warriors and Mustangs kept the game 0-0 throughout the first half. Neither side wanted to make the big mistake.
Each side had an equal amount of opportunities, yet nothing was going in until the second half, when Westhill’s Connor Schwartz made the long-awaited breakthrough, slipping a shot past Marcellus goalie Sam Hayduke.
For the night, Hayduke had six saves in another solid effort, but his Mustangs teammates constantly got thwarted, held to five shots that Antonio Scrimale stopped to help get Westhill back to the sectional semifinals as Marcellus closed its 2016 campaign with a 10-6-2 mark.
While Westhill enjoyed a first-round bye, Marcellus had an offensive breakout midway through the first half of last Wednesday’s opening-round game against no. 10 seed Oneida, where a nervous start quickly translated into a skills exhibition for the likes of David Bosak as the Mustangs defeated the Indians 7-2.
Not until the 18th minute did Marcellus get on the board with Nate Kellar’s goal, assisted by Carter Austin. Less than two minutes, Bosak struck to make it 2-0, and even an Oneida goal from a penalty kick didn’t bother the Mustangs as Bosak answered it with less than three minutes left in the half.
Up 3-1 at the break, Marcellus expanded the lead 2:46 into the second half to extend that lead thanks to Mike Provvidenti’s goal. Less than a minute later, Bosak beat Oneida goalie Jarod Ripper to complete his hat trick, but he added a fourth goal within six minutes before Austin converted in the 60th minute.
Through it all, Alec Stasyuk earned a pair of assists, with Noah LaFever adding one assist. Casey Rich and Jordan O’Connell picked up goals for the Indians.
Meanwhile, in the sectional Class C playoffs, Bishop Ludden, holding the no. 4 seed, nearly didn’t make it out of the opening round, but yet another piece of late-game drama allowed the Gaelic Knights to fight past no. 13 seed Faith Heritage 1-0.
This was the same Saints team Ludden lost to by a 2-0 margin earlier in October, so it wasn’t a surprise to see these two OHSL Patriot division rivals battling it out 0-0 through most of regulation. Shots were precious, and the Gaelic Knights’ defense limited Faith Heritage to three all night.
Still, overtime was looming when Ludden’s uncanny ability to make a big play at just the right moment arrived again. As the clock ticked down, Justin Eisenhauser forced a turnover at midfield and passed it long, to Eric Emmons, who in turn found Lucas Scutari. With just 18 seconds left, Scutari fired it past Faith goalie David Leff to win it.
Now Ludden got some time to regroup before the Class C quarterfinal with no. 5 seed Westmoreland, who blanked Little Falls 2-0 in the opening round. Originally set for late last week, the game was moved to Monday night to avoid bad weather and worse field conditions at Ludden.
The winner would go to the sectional semifinals and face top seed Thousand Islands, who survived penalty kicks with Tully in last Friday’s quarterfinal at Watertown High School. Mount Markham would face Cooperstown in the other semifinal.
Far from all this, Solvay had a brief stay in the sectional Class B tournament. As the no. 12 seed, the Bearcats made a trip to no. 5 seed Clinton in last Wednesday’s opening round and struggled from the outset in a 6-0 defeat to that other group of Warriors.
Clinton, mostly known as a stellar defensive team, relied on a three-pronged attack to subdue Solvay. Matt Orlando, John Conway and Josh Houle each scored twice, with Orlando getting two assists as Houle and Conway both nabbed single assists. The Bearcats finished its season with a record of 7-10.
Meanwhile, Clinton went on to lose to Cazenovia 1-0 in the quarterfinals, with the Lakers advancing to face top seed South Jefferson in one semifinal as the other pits Westhill against no. 3 seed and two-time defending sectional champion Skaneateles.
