No matter what had come before they met each other, things for the Cazenovia and Chittenango boys soccer teams drastically changed in the 80 minutes spent together last Thursday night.
Even with the game on the Bears’ home turf, and even with its own uneven start to the season, the Lakers never trailed and, in the latter stages, used its depth to pull away and earn a commanding 4-1 victory.
The key to it all was how the first half unfolded. Cazenovia gradually picked up its pressure, and Chittenango resisted most of it, only to give up a goal that made it 1-0. And once it was on the board, the Lakers gained confidence, which led to a getaway.
Four Cazenovia players – Ryan Modzeleski, Joe Spires, Alex Pezzi and Steve LaFever – picked up the four goals. Pezzi and Alex Nowak added assists. Only Tim Ryder’s second-half tally, assisted by Zach Jasmin, prevented the Bears from getting shut out.
Chittenango arrived in league play full of confidence after it had scored 17 goals in two games on the way to victory at its own season-opening tournament. Eleven of them had come in the Aug. 29 opening round against Phoenix, and while the Bears cooled down a bit in the Aug. 31 final against Central Square, it still easily beat the Redhawks 6-1.
Perhaps the toll of the opening round (an overtime win over Oneida) played a factor, but Chittenango pushed the pace from the outset and led Central Square 3-1 by halftime, the lone blemish a goal by the Redhawks’ Rhys Rupracht.
Getting away late, the Bears saw Seth Spurgeon pick up his second three-goal hat trick in as many outings, adding an assist. Sean Larsson found the net twice, while Anthony Roberts had one goal and one assist. Jasmin and Wes Stanton had one assist apiece.
Then, in last Tuesday’s league opener against Mexico, the Bears did not look ahead to Cazenovia, instead beating the Tigers 3-1 as it needed a pair of second-half scoring plays to build its eventual margin.
Overcoming 10 saves by Mexico goalie Brandon Dutcher, Chittenango had three different players – Larsson, Dan Moon and Artie Paul – score those three goals, with Roberts contributing an assist. Schnauffer had four saves, only allowing William Ruby’s second-half goal.
Meanwhile, Cazenovia had its own drama in its league opener against Marcellus, unable to hold a late lead in a 2-1 defeat to the Mustangs.
Trey Schug’s goal in the 12th minute, off a corner kick from Ryan Modzeleski, put Cazenovia in front. And it stayed that way until the midway point of the second half, when Marcellus pulled even and, eight minutes later, got in front thanks to goals by Dakota Baker and Hugh White. The Mustangs’ defense made that slim lead stick,
In other words, nothing that happened before their meeting hinted that Cazenovia would do so well at Chittenango. Yet it happened, and the Lakers had big-time momentum that carried over into Saturday’s 5-2 win over Potsdam (Section X) at Watertown High School.
Modzeleski and Spires both would score twice and earn one assist. Pezzi earned the other goal, with assists also credited to LaFever, Zach Simms and Jacob Scherrer. Collin Killany finished with seven saves.
That win improved Cazenovia’s record to 3-1 going into Monday’s game at Fabius-Pompey, the start of another busy week where it would also take on Homer and CBA – in all, six games played within an 11-day span.
Chittenango, meanwhile, would take on Bishop Grimes Saturday and shut out the Cobras 3-0. Spurgeon, with one goal and one assist, led an attack where Roberts and Jacob Grahm also converted. Ryder and Jasmin picked up assists as the Bears took 21 shots to Grimes’ two.
That would lead to Chittenango playing back-to-back road games this week at Marcellus and Mexico.
