Right from the outset, the Liverpool boys soccer team was playing at a disadvantage in 2017, having seen key figures from last fall’s Section III Class AA title run, including goalie Ben Bowers, funneled into national team programs.
Still, the Warriors got back to the sectional Class AA semifinals as a no. 3 seed, only to get stifled in last Thursday night’s semifinal at Jamesville-DeWitt by no. 2 seed Baldwinsville, who prevailed 2-0.
Just 14 days had passed since Liverpool had closed the regular season by knocking off the Bees 1-0 at LHS Stadium, getting for a 5-1 loss to B’ville in late September.
That result should have given the Warriors plenty of confidence and encouragement going into the playoff encounter. Instead, it was the Bees in total command from the moment the game kicked off.
Barely seven minutes had passed before a corner kick by Michael Allen got shuffled around the front of the net before Brennan Walsh slammed it past Ben White into the Warriors’ net.
More would follow in the 17th minute, courtesy of senior Brandon Mimas. Already with 25 goals on the season, Mimas grabbed a Liverpool turnover and sped past two defenders before converting on a low stinging shot to double the Bees’ margin.
The rest of the 60-plus minutes proved a stalemate, the Warriors’ defense, led by Jack Pento, Caleb Munski and Dan Tracy, settling down and protecting White, who also would play well and finish with nine saves.
That hardly mattered, though, because Liverpool’s offense never got on track. Allen, Ben Kinslow, Frankie Levanti, Alex Charest and the rest of the Bees’ back line followed the Warriors’ forwards everywhere they ran, causing plenty of frustration.
When it was needed, goalie Donovan Moore handled his part of the work, too, earning six saves, some of them on aggressive moves, especially in the early minutes, which kept Liverpool off balance.
So the Warriors’ sectional title defense ended with a 13-5 record, and 11 seniors will depart, including Tracy, Munski, Ben Root, Arling Ramadani, Abe Haley, James Gaffney and Bryce Everts. White and Pento are expected to lead the returning cast in 2018.
