Neighbors got together on Saturday when the West Genesee and Westhill girls soccer teams squared off in Camillus. And after 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime, nothing was settled – and nothing was put on the board, either.
The 0-0 draw reflected the strength both sides had on their respective defensive ends. Already this season, the Wildcats had shut out Jamesville-DeWitt and Rochester Mercy, and would get a third shutout here by turning back all of the Warriors’ opportunities as Elizabeth Croft only had to make six saves.
Westhill faced more pressure, but its back line held up well, too, preventing most opportunities while seeing Lauren Bendall record nine saves.
An eventful opening week for WG that started with that Aug. 30 win at J-D continued at Alibrandi Stadium two days later when it fell to Christian Brothers Academy by that same 1-0 margin.
Much like the J-D game, there was a scoreless first half, and the Wildcats’ defense was on the brink of taking it to another overtime until Meghan McKeen, with 10 minutes left, scored off a feed from Katy Stanard. That proved enough, WG unable to put anything of its 13 shots past CBA goalie Catherine Burns.
WG would prevail, 4-0, over Mercy last Tuesday night in the team’s home opener, though it wasn’t that lopsided for much of the first half. In face, it was 0-0 before Jackie Vigliotti scored on a penalty kick just 2:12 before intermission.
Energized by that goal, the Wildcats pulled away in the second half, with Grace Walker finding the net twice and, in between them, Mia Sveen netting her first goal of the season. Haley Elsey and Sarah Petrus got credit for assists, with Croft and Erin Lum combining to stop all eight Mercy shots they faced.
Good as that was, though, the Wildcats still had much to prove when Baldwinsville visited last Thursday afternoon, and despite an energetic effort, WG took a 3-1 defeat to the undefeated Bees.
Unable to score in the first half, the Wildcats did so after intermission as Elsey scored off a feed from Jessica Mahoney. Yet B’ville pulled away with depth and balance, as three different players – Laura Kick, Hannah Mimas and Simone Nievel – put in goals, with Katie Pascale, Graisa Madden and Kelsey DeLola earning assists.
Westhill led up to its match with West Genesee with a pair of wins, first by going to Altmar-Parish-Williamstown last Tuesday and routing the Rebels 7-0.
Six of those goals came in the first half as only Katelyn Karleski scored twice, with Morgan Elmer, Molly Bobbett, Erica Gangemi and Cierra Rudnick each getting one goal and one assist. Lauren Holstein had the other goal and Lauren Marshall contributed an assist.
It was a lot tougher Thursday night at Skaneateles, but the Warriors prevailed 1-0, the second time in as many weeks Westhill beat the Lakers following an Aug. 30 victory during the Oswego Tournament.
For most of the night, Westhill could not convert despite constant pressure on the Skaneateles defense. Yet while Grace Kush made nine saves, she could not prevent Mackenzie Powers from putting a shot past her for the game’s lone goal.
