When the Westhill and Marcellus boys soccer teams exited the field in the wake of the Warriors’ 2-1 win on Oct. 10 that required two goals in the last 26 seconds of regulation, they both wondered if a post-season rematch was possible.
It is, but only if the top-seeded Warriors and no. 3 seed Mustangs both make it through three rounds of the Section III Class B playoffs intact, far from a guarantee given the game’s mercurial nature and the presence of plenty of other strong contenders.
The opening round last Wednesday night went without incident as Westhill pushed past no. 16 seed Mexico 4-0 and Marcellus dominated no. 14 seed General Brown in a 7-0 romp.
Westhill had blanked Mexico by that exact same 4-0 margin just 11 days earlier, on Oct. 7. Here, the task was accomplished with a trio of first-half goals and 20 shots overall against Tigers goalie Brandon Dutcher.
Charlie Bolesh led the way, finding the net twice as Ben Eassa and Justin Ristoff also earned goals. Four different Warriors – Jack Grooms, Evan Watt, Mack Etoll and D.J. Caloia – assisted on the four scoring plays.
A few hours later at Marcellus, the Mustangs unloaded on General Brown, wearing down the Lions’ defenses until it could score five times in the second half to get away.
David Bosak’s three-goal hat trick moved his season total to 19. Carter Austin had one goal and one assist, with goals also going to Dakota Baker, Josh Wilkinson and Andrew Fragnito. Assists went to Shawn Manke, Jack O’Hara, Lukas Stasyuk, Noah LeFever and Justin Costa.
On Friday night, Westhill met no. 9 seed Camden in the quarterfinals, the Blue Devils having just recorded its first-ever sectional playoff win when it blanked Chittenango 2-0 in the opening round.
No more history was made, though, as the Warriors ripped Camden 6-0 with a first-half assault. Six different times, Westhill converted, and those goals came from six different player as it accumulated a 19-3 shot advantage.
Bolesh, Calola, Brad Zell, Bo BenYehuda, Braden Krzykowski and Adam Herne picked up those goals, with Grooms, Etoll, Owen Hoyne, Nate King and Patrick Coman all earning assists.
Marcellus had to wait until Saturday for its Class B quarterfinal against no. 6 seed Clinton, a tough assignment given those Warriors’ strong post-season history and an impressive 3-0 first-round win over Oneida.
Ignoring the history and concerns, the Mustangs blanked Clinton 2-0, and for that Marcellus could thank Wilkinson, who converted on both goals, one in each half, while LeFever and O’Hara earned assists. Sam Hayduke got another playoff shutout, stopping all five Clinton shots he faced.
To get that sectional final against each other, Westhill and Marcellus would first have to win their respective semifinals this Thursday night – the Warriors against no. 4 seed South Jefferson at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium, the Mustangs against no. 3 seed Cazenovia that same night at Jamesville-DeWitt Stadium. Both games kick off at 5:30.
Meanwhile, Bishop Ludden, armed with the top seed in the Class D sectional tournament, began its title run last Wednesday with a 3-1 opening-round win over Blessed Virgin Mary.
Taking out the suspense early, the state Class D no. 9-ranked Gaelic Knights grabbed a 2-0 lead by halftime, and held on as Lucas Scutari and Connor Catalano each had one goal and one assist, Scutari getting his 21st goal of the season. Rob Sexton also had a goal as Cam Kaminski contributed an assist
The Class D quarterfinal took place Saturday at Corcoran High School, Ludden facing no.8 seed Hamilton. Even though the Emerald Knights lost 3-2 to Utica Academy of Science, a school issue with an ineligible player caused the Atoms to forfeit a few days later.
Either way, it was a tough assignment for the Gaelic Knights, but it pulled through, winning 2-1 by netting the only goal of the first half and answering when Hamilton’s Erik Geier converted in the second half.
Overcoming 10 saves by Emerald Knights goalie Quinn Robertson, Catalano and Antonio Scutari earned the goals, with assists going to Lucas Scutari and John Saleski.
This Thursday night’s sectional Class D semifinal at Chittenango High School would pit Ludden against no. 4 seed Poland, who handled Waterville and Cincinnatus in the first two rounds. The winner here would get Lyme or Manlius-Pebble Hill in next Monday’s sectional title game.
