What had gone so well for the Liverpool boys soccer team vanished in the first week of October as the Warriors suffered three consecutive defeats.
Cicero-North Syracuse had started that skid, prevailing in overtime at LHS Stadium on Oct. 1, and the Warriors followed with defeats to Henninger and Baldwinsville in the four days that followed.
By the time Fayetteville-Manlius came to LHS Stadium last Tuesday, Liverpool found itself in as desperate a mode as a 10-4, state-ranked team could muster, and Jake Zona channeled those nerves into a clutch performance in a 2-0 win over the Hornets on Senior Night.
It was Senior Night, and Zona’s first-half goal was all that Liverpool would need to shut out the same F-M side it blanked at Swan Pond on Sept. 20.
The Hornets had plenty of chances, but Ben White turned them all away, earning eight saves, and Zona tacked on a second-half insurance goal as Justin Lombard (whose penalty kick won the first meeting with F-M) and Ian Zingaro got assists.
Now, Liverpool would turn to Thursday night’s game against Corcoran, and the school used this occasion to pay tribute to Doug Nunn, who after 33 years with the program – 13 as junior varsity coach, 20 as varsity head coach – will retire at season’s end.
Among other things, the ceremony included a video tribute on Liverpool’s scoreboard, an autographed poster from the team and visits from several former players that culminated in a dinner at the high school after the game.
Corcoran would not spoil this occasion, either. Liverpool prevailed 4-1 over the Cougars, scoring all of its goals in a first-half barrage anchored by Ian Zingaro, who found the net twice.
Zona scored, too, as did Aaron Parry, with defender Jack Mento getting a pair of assists as single assists went to Lombard and Faisal Samim. Dan Schaeber saw extended time in the net and finished with four saves.
C-NS, meanwhile, hosted Baldwinsville, who had risen to no. 9 in the state AA rankings and would prove that rating wasn’t a fluke by marching to the Gillette Road complex and prevailing 2-0 over the Northstars.
Having lost 2-1 at B’ville earlier this season, the Northstars would play terrific defense throughout a scoreless first half, seeing Ethan Doerschuk earn most of his seven saves.
But while most of the Bees were contained, Josh Price was not. Twice in the second half, the B’ville forward pushed shots past Doerschuk, the only goals of the night as Brennan Walsh got credit for an assist.
Two nights later, at Sunnycrest Field, C-NS faced Henninger, and it ended in a 1-1 draw, a far cry from the 5-2 romp the Northstars had over the Black Knights on Sept. 25.
Here, the defenses ruled for a while, the game 0-0 until the second half, when Cameron Houser’s goal got C-NS on the board, but SeeMoo Hai converted for Henninger.
Twenty minutes of overtime did not settle matters, either, C-NS constantly turned back as Black Knights goalie Lubenda Echeni stopped 15 of the 16 shots he faced.
When the Section III Class AA playoff bracket came out, Liverpool was the no. 2 seed and C-NS the no. 3 seed.
This means they will each other in the semifinals next week if the Northstars get through Wednesday’s quarterfinal with no. 6 seed Henninger and the Warriors make it through a Thursday quarterfinal with no. 7 seed West Genesee.
