A 15-1 regular season was nice. So was the Salt City Athletic Conference Empire division regular-season title and a firm spot in the state Class AA top five.
None of that would mean much, though, if the Fayetteville-Manlius boys soccer team didn’t follow up these honors with one more – that of Section III Class AA champions.
Drawing the top seed in the nine-team field, the Hornets welcomed no. 8 seed Utica Proctor to Swan Pond last Thursday night for the AA quarterfinals after the Raiders had handled Central Square 4-0 two nights earlier.
Not taking any opponent for granted, F-M rolled past Proctor 4-1, helped in no small part by the quick scoring burst that has become a Hornets trademark this fall.
Just 5:33 into the game, Noah Craig found the net, assisted by Riley Burke. Less than eight minutes later, Hunter Knutsen set up Cole Teelin’s goal that made it 2-0.
Proctor’s defense resisted well for the rest of the half, but in the opening minute of the second half F-M forced a corner kick that Grant Olick-Sutphen converted, followed by Olick-Sutphen feeding Teelin for a 75-yard run to the net that produced the fourth goal.
Ali Samonli would get a late goal for the Raiders as Gu Nay Ku made 12 saves, but F-M was well on its way to a sectional semifinal against no. 5 seed Henninger, who had knocked off Cicero-North Syracuse in penalty kicks.
That game takes place Thursday night at C-NS’s Bragman Stadium. The other semifinal would pit no. 2 seed Baldwinsville against no. 3 seed Liverpool on the turf at Jamesville-DeWitt. Both games kick off at 7:30.
On Friday night, it was the turn of the F-M girls soccer team to enter the sectional fray. As the no. 4 seed, the Hornets hosted no. 5 seed Cicero-North Syracuse, a team it beat twice during the regular season, by 3-1 and 2-0 margins.
The third encounter was the most important, though, and F-M saved its best effort against the Northstars for this particular evening as it struck early and never let up in a 4-0 shutout.
Just 5:18 had elapsed before Rachel Dobricki slid a shot past C-NS goalie Olivia Haven. For much of the rest of the half, the Hornets continued to apply pressure, yet were unable to add to that one-goal margin.
But with 10 seconds left in the half, Cady Barns slipped free and, by putting in the second goal, dashed whatever momentum C-NS hoped to gain from keeping things close.
Now with a heavy dose of energy and confidence, F-M made it 3-0 just 2:28 into the second half as Anna Hartzheim found the net. A late goal by Alexa LaRocca sealed the win as Hannah Knych got credit for a pair of assists and Sabrina Suriani recorded five saves.
With that win, F-M earned a Class AA semifinal date with top seed Baldwinsville Wednesday night at CBA’s Alibrandi Stadium.
Twice in September, the Hornets met the Bees and lost. Ironically, those games were also 3-1 and 2-0 decisions. The winner here would get to the sectional final against Liverpool or Rome Free Academy.
