Still parked at no. 4 in the state Class B rankings, the Westhill girls soccer team gave every indication last week that it will be difficult to pry the Section III Class B title from them when the playoffs start this week.
Against a solid Christian Brothers Academy squad last Wednesday night, the Warriors put together a scoring blitz that ended things early as it wiped out the Brothers 5-0.
Leading that charge, Sophia Caron scored twice for Westhill, adding an assist. Lauren Holstein, Lauren Marshall and Ciarra Rudnick joined in with single goals as Megan O’Reilly and Erica Gangemi picked up assists.
Now all the Warriors had to do was beat Phoenix Friday to complete an undefeated regular season – and it did, moving to 15-0-1 with a 4-0 shutout of the Firebirds.
Up 3-0 by halftime, Westhill again spread things around, with O’Reilly and Caron both getting one goal and one assist, plus goals from Rudnick and Katelyn Karleski. Phoenix never got a direct shot on the Warriors’ net.
Marcellus, who had lost twice in the first week of October, shook off that brief slump and returned to the win column last Wednesday night, slamming the Mexico Tigers 6-1.
Anna Vetsch led the breakout, earning a three-goal hat trick as Taylor Reich found the net twice. Lauren Lundgren earned the other goal as assists went to Katherine Locastro, Lily Locastro and Olivia Bird.
A busy weekend followed, starting Friday with Marcellus fighting off a challenge from Chittenango last Friday night and beating the Bears 4-2.
Reich’s goal near the midway point of the first half was the only tally for either side, but Marcellus doubled that margin when Vetsch scored just 38 seconds into the second half.
Even when Chittenango’s Sarah Martin scored in the 52nd minute, Reich answered three minutes later, converting a penalty kick. Then Vetsch’s second goal with 17:51 to play made it 4-1, too much to overcome, though Ally Shoemaker did find the net with 7:34 to play.
Less than 24 hours later, Marcellus romped past Altmar-Parish-Williamstown 5-0, getting two more goals from Reich as Vetsch, Quinn Kinsella and Sami Tone also converted. Bird, Lily Powell and Kaleigh Kemp added assists as the Mustangs improved to 11-4-1.
The sectional Class B playoff bracket, when unveiled, showed that, if Westhill and Marcellus were to have yet another post-season clash, it would happen in the semifinals.
That’s because the Warriors hold the top seed, awaiting a first-round game against General Brown or Adirondack, while the Mustangs have the no. 5 seed and host no. 12 seed Holland Patent to start out. Two wins by Westhill and Marcellus would mean a playoff showdown early next week.
