While the Cicero-North Syracuse girls soccer team will find its true measure this week when it faces reigning state Class AA champion Baldwinsville, at least it already knows that it can play well in adverse situations.
When the Northstars opened Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division play at Fayetteville-Manlius last Tuesday night, it was seemingly headed for overtime before a freshman delivered the critical shot to produce a 1-0 victory.
Having won its first three games of 2018, C-NS found itself in a tense defensive battle against F-M. For more than 79 minutes, neither side blinked, with every opportunity thwarted.
With 30 seconds left in regulation, though, the Northstars made one more push and Madelyn Jackson, breaking free, slipped a shot past F-M goalie Sabrina Suriani, the eventual game-winner.
Two nights later, C-NS would test itself again as it faced West Genesee, who started 4-0 prior to a loss at B’ville. Here, the Northstars would take its first blemish in a tough 1-0 defeat to the Wildcats.
Just as it was at F-M, they played a scoreless first half, C-NS comfortable in this environment, yet not finding much space against a fast, aggressive WG defense anchored by two goalies, Liz Croft and Caitlin Miles, who combined for 12 saves.
Eventually, that aggression paid off on the other end when, in the second half, Shannon Foster slipped a shot past Northstars goalie Olivia Haven, who otherwise had made five saves.
At least that game was close, which wasn’t the case for Liverpool as it made its own trip to F-M that same night and saw things get away midway through the second half of a 4-1 loss to the Hornets.
Less than seven minutes into the game, F-M’s Hannah Knych caught a pass from Rachel Dobricki in mid-stride, charged in and scored, the only tally for either team in the first half.
Things didn’t break open until midway through the second half, when a series of passes, the last of them by Knych, led to Hartzheim’s goal.
Less than a minute later, Knych fed Dobricki for a third goal, and Ashley Carter added a free-kick conversion with 4:22 left, all of which rendered moot a late goal by the Warriors’ Abby Haley.
Liverpool will, like C-NS, face Baldwinsville this week, the first time they’ve squared off since the Warriors fell to the Bees in last October’s sectional final.
