Still without a defeat, the Westhill boys soccer team entered the second half of the regular season at 8-0 and parked at no. 3 in the state Class B rankings. Marcellus was not ranked at all, but after last Thursday night’s 4-1 victory over rival Skaneateles, that just might change.
Going into this game, the Mustangs were 8-1, its lone defeat coming 12 days earlier at Hyatt Stadium against these same Lakers, a 2-0 decision where both goals were scored in the opening minutes.
So all Marcellus did was exactly what Skaneateles had done to them – only take it one step further.
Just 5:47 into the game, David Bosak, from the point, delivered a long, hard shot that fit inside the top right corner of the net. Before Skaneateles could recover, Bosak attacked again, and from the right, passed it to Shawn Manke, who headed home a second goal.
As if that wasn’t enough, Manke, off a feed from Noah LeFever, charged up the middle and, when Skaneateles Luke Peterson charged to meet him, lofted the ball over his head and into the unoccupied net – three goals, in a span of less than six minutes, putting Marcellus in front 3-0 before the game was 12 minutes old.
Somehow, Skaneateles settled down and, for much of the rest of the game, contained the Mustangs, helped by Peterson making some diving stops. It even caused brief concern by having Gabe Konieczny score on a free kick late in the second half, but Carter Austin, off a feed from Lukas Stasyuk, clinched the victory with a hard left-footed shot into the top of the net with 5:18 to play.
What was just as impressive was that Marcellus did not have a letdown after this impressive effort, hosting Oneida on Saturday and jumping on the Indians, too, in the course of a 6-1 victory.
Here, though, the big surge came in the second half. Already in front 2-0, the Mustangs added to that margin as Jake Wilkinson, with two goals, led the charge. Bosak, Hugh White, Sam Grattan and Brendan Shanahan had one goal apiece, with LeFever, Dakota Baker and Andrew Fragnito earning one assist apiece.
Before all this, Westhill made it nine in a row last Monday night by withstanding a challenge from Christian Brothers Academy, toppling the Brothers 2-0.
Again, the Warriors’ defense had a standout effort, limiting CBA to six shots, all stopped by John Geer. One scoring play in each half proved enough as Jack Grooms, who had the lone goal to beat Skaneateles Sept. 19, converted, as did Connor Schwartz, with Bo BenYehuda earning an assist.
In Tuesday night’s game at Homer, the Warriors ran the win streak to 10 by topping the Trojans 3-1, but it was a nervous game for a while as Ben Herman’s goal, assisted by Nate Potter, helped Homer forge a 1-1 halftime tie.
Eventually, Westhill’s pressure on Trojans goalie Jacob McGory (who made 13 saves) paid off. A pair of second-half scoring plays moved the Warriors in front for good as BenYehuda, Owen Hoyne and Mack Etoll each took turns earning goals, with Ben Essa picking up an assist.
Westhill had a non-league game Friday against Potsdam (Section X), and stopped the Sandstoners 5-0, largely a product of the work by Charlie Bolesh, who erupted for a three-goal hat trick and contributed an assist, too. BenYehuda had one goal and one assist, with Hoyne also finding the net.
Another big game for Westhill would loom Tuesday when it visited the Sean Googin Sports Complex to take on 9-1-1 Cazenovia. The Warriors host Mexico on Saturday right befor the Oct. 10 showdown with Marcellus, who has to deal with Solvay and Homer this week before a Saturday test against Whitesboro.
