It wasn’t until October that the Westhill and Marcellus girls soccer teams would renew their long and meaningful rivalry, with the balance of power in the Section III Class B ranks so often at stake.
Going in, it’s the Warriors in the position of power, sitting at no. 3 in the state rankings, while the Mustangs were unranked and not far removed from an unlikely 1-0 defeat to Solvay on Sept. 22.
Right after that game, Marcellus survived a 1-0 match with Indian River and then, two nights later, went to Homer and found itself in overtime, but endured long enough to beat the Trojans in yet another 1-0 decision.
Through 80 minutes of regulation, the Mustangs met the same frustration as it did with Solvay, but more importantly, its defense turned back all of Homer’s chances, Grace Coon matching the Trojans’ Anna Gugerty as they each got 10 saves.
With the game still 0-0 in the first OT period, Anna Vetsch, from the left side, lofted a shot past Gugerty insdie the right post, the only goal that was needed.
A big contrast to this drama was the 10-0 rout Marcellus inflicted on Hannibal Wednesday night. During an explosive first half, the Mustangs burned the Warriors for eight goals, ultimately having eight different players convert by game’s end.
Only Taylor Reich and Tora Fey scored twice, with Vetsch and Ashley Gilmore each getting one goal and one assist. Mary Colella, Emma Holzwarth, Olivia Bird and Lily Locastro took turns finding the net as Katherine Locastro had two assists and Coon got an assist, too.
In Saturday’s trip to Cazenovia, Marcellus looked for more momentum as it prepared for Westhill, and got it with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Lakers.
Just like she did against Homer, Vetsch notched the only goal of the match, a first-half strike assisted by Lily Powell. Though Cazenovia didn’t give up anything more, it could not convert on multiple opportunities as Coon and Kendall Koloski combined for 10 saves.
Solvay did not have a letdown after that landmark win at Marcellus, earning another shutout on Wednesday as it blanked Jordan-Elbridge 3-0. Despite 16 saves by Eagles goalie Mia Arms, the Bearcats saw Taylor Clisson dominate the game, netting all three goal for the hat trick as Carly Devereaux and Lanaya Wilis earned assists.
Westhill had started last week’s action with a 4-0 win at Mexico, most of which belonged to Erica Gangemi, who powered her side to a 3-0 halftime lead and eventually earned a three-goal hat trick. Lauren Marshall earned the other goal as the Warriors overcame 11 saves from Tigers goalie Melissa Murray.
On Thursday night, the Warriors blanked Holland patent by that same 4-0 margin, the team’s 10th consecutive shutout, aided in this case by a trio of first-half goals as O’Reilly had one goal and one assist, with Karleski, Gangemi and Sophia Caron also finding the net. Mackenzie Powers gained an assist.
Against J-E on Friday, Westhill smashed its way to a 9-0 victory, with Gangemi tacking on four more goals to give her eight for the week. Caron found the net twice, with Lauren Marshall getting one goal and one assist. Karleski and Rylie Taber also converted as Morgan Elmer gained two assists. Single assists went to O’Reilly and Cierra Rudnick.
On Saturday, Solvay took a 2-1 defeat to Christian Brothers Academy at Alibrandi Stadium. Trailing 2-0 at halftime, the Bearcats got an unassisted goal from Devereaux, but could not quite catch up as Muehl finished with eight saves.
West Genesee sought a league victory when it hosted Fayetteville-Manlius on a Tuesday night where all of the WG soccer programs got together to raise funds for the “More Than a Game” Foundation and Upstate-Golisano Children’s Hospital.
The varsity Wildcats took a 2-1 defeat to the Hornets, as Sammie Snyder’s first-half goal, assisted by Haley Elsey, got matched by F-M’s Rachel Dobricki, who also converted in the second half to break the 1-1 tie. WG lost despite 10 saves by goalie Liz Croft.
Now at 4-4-2, the Wildcats hosted New Hartford Thursday night and, once again, was pushed to overtime, but pulled it out a 2-0 decision over the Spartans.
Regulation, and a single 10-minute OT period, passed with the game still 0-0. Abby Buchholz made 11 saves for New Hartford, but Croft countered with 12 saves, and earned the shutout when Snyder and Emma Parry scored within less than five minutes of each other in the second OT, Jessica Mahoney adding an assist.
In Saturday’s game at Rome Free Academy, WG got a glimpse at how tough the 9-1 Black Knights were in a 3-0 defeat. Katherine Balog scored two of RFA’s three goals and Amanda Wilbert had the other goal as Croft finished with 10 saves.
Bishop Ludden played Fabius-Pompey to a 1-1 draw last Monday night as Katie Costello netted the Gaelic Knights’ goal, assisted by Abbey Bombard. The Falcons countered with a goal by Hailey Niles, and 20 minutes of overtime settled nothing as Olivia Boyea had six saves.
At Bishop Grimes two days later, Ludden looked for a season sweep of a side it beat 3-0 on Sept. 11, and it shut out the Cobras again, this time 2-0. The goals came from Emma Driscoll and Laura Patulski, and the Gaelic Knights’ defense allowed just one direct shot.
Ludden had to face Cicero-North Syracuse on Saturday and lost, 7-1, to the Northstars, getting a goal from Driscoll, but otherwise getting overwhelmed by the Northstars’ attack as six different C-NS players scored, with only Haley Imbesi converting twice.
