Eleven days had passed between the end of the regular season for the Skaneateles boys soccer team and its appearance in the Section III Class B playoffs.
That long layoff was valuable for the Lakers in that it had ample time to work on problems that surfaced in the first 16 games, plus lots of chance for injured or sore players to heal and refresh.
The only risk was that Skaneateles might find itself taking time to get back into game mode at a point where any slip might mean the premature end of a season that, as always, carries high expectations.
Given the no. 5 seed in the sectional Class B bracket, the Lakers hosted no. 12 seed Homer in last Wednesday’s opening round at Hyatt Stadium. With one more chance to play in front of a home crowd, Skaneateles didn’t waste it, eliminating the Trojans 3-0.
It was quickly apparent that the energy the Lakers possessed had not dissipated during its 11-day break. All told, it would take 23 shots, reminiscent of its effort when it beat this same Homer side 2-0 early in September.
Somehow, the Trojans kept it 1-0 until the 31st minute, when Jeremy Castle pounced on the rebound of a Max Moss shot and fired home the go-ahead goal.
Continuing to pressure, the Lakers used one of its trademark throw-ins in the 54th minute to full effect as the ball glanced off a Homer defender into the net, Tommy Reed given credit for the goal. Moss then added a third goal with 17:30 left.
Well-protected throughout the game, Skaneateles goalie Luke Peterson made five saves, far less than 20 recorded by Trojans counterpart Ethan Lunas.
Now Skaneateles would go on the road to Adams for Friday’s sectional quarterfinal against no. 4 seed South Jefferson, who had beaten Adirondack by that same 3-0 margin in its opening-round game.
A combination of home-field advantage and timely scoring would make the difference for the Spartans as it put an end to the Lakers’ title dreams in a 3-2 defeat.
Never able to get the lead, Skaneateles still tied it, 1-1, less than a minute before halftime off a throw-in, only to see South Jefferson respond with goals in the 50th and 61st minutes to go in front 3-1.
With eight minutes left, theLakers again cut it to one, Tylar Moss having earned his second assist as Sam Gadjo and Justin McClanahan had earned the goals, but South Jefferson held on.
To help the Spartans advance to a semifinal against top seed Westhill, Owen Fish, Zach Wildrick and Cadin Berie each had one goal, with Berie joining Riley Williams and Owen Vincent in the assist column and Connor Lalone making 10 saves, twice Peterson’s total.
Finishing its season at 11-7, Skaneateles had a strong September, but never could quite recover from injuries to the likes of Christian Dailey and other setbacks.
