Defending the Section III Class AA title but far from a favorite, the Fayetteville-Manlius boys soccer team, with the no. 4 seed, fended off a challenge from no. 5 seed Nottingham 2-1 in last Thursday’s quarterfinals.
With the win, the Hornets earned a semifinal berth against Baldwinsville, who needed overtime to win its quarterfinal 1-0 over Rome Free Academy. The F-M-B’ville winner gets Liverpool or Cicero-North Syracuse in the sectional final. Both semifinals take place Tuesday at Jamesville-DeWitt, starting at 5:30.
F-M had moved its game with Nottingham from Swan Pond to its high school Field Turf facility, and immediately went out in front as Ty Teelin scored off a Ben Hammond corner kick two minutes into the game.
Then Teelin assisted on Noah Craig’s goal that made it 2-0 going into halftime. Nottingham fought back with Diamond Weah’s second-half goal as Ben Ashby made 11 saves.
Still, the Hornets held on as Chris Szidat stopped seven of eight shots. It was the last game for Nottingham’s coach of more than 30 years, Andy Hazeltine, who won 299 games coaching the Bulldogs.
Meanwhile, in the Class C sectional tournament, Bishop Grimes had the no. 6 seed and moved last Wednesday night’s first-round game against no. 11 seed West Canada Valley to Henninger’s Sunnycrest Field.
The faster surfaced agreed with the Cobras as it defeated the Indians 5-0, securing three of those goals in a decisive first half and not letting up, even with a comfortable advantage.
Taking 22 shots overall, Grimes saw Byam Mugushu and Connor Alexander each finish with two goals and one assist, while Deng Mawien had one goal and one assist .Mike DiBlasi and Jeff Dargiewicz also picked up assists.
Now it was on to the quarterfinals Friday as the Cobras faced no. 3 seed Beaver River, but it was here that the Cobras’ title dreams were dashed in a 4-2 defeat.
Tanner Kovach helped the Beavers dash to a 3-1 halftime lead, eventually netting two goals and adding an assist. Dylan Williams and Dawson Gerdon would also find the net.
Try as it could, Grimes could not catch up, with Alexander and Mugusho earning the Cobras’ goals. Beaver River advanced to face top-seeded Cooperstown in the sectional semifinals as Grimes’ season ended with a 12-4-2 record.
Manlius-Pebble Hill had the no. 4 seed in Class D, but even that didn’t protect the Trojans from an early exit in last Wednesday’s opening round as it lost, 2-1, in double overtime to no. 13 seed Blessed Virgin Mary.
Jack Hogan’s goal, assisted by Brendan O’Malley, put the Trojans in front 1-0 in the opening minutes. But the Saints tied it late in the first half, and it stayed that way for a while.
For the most part, MPH’s defense held up, Ezra Hamlin making 15 saves overall. Yet the Trojans could not put a go-ahead score past BVM netminder Thaddeus Patterson, who finished with 12 saves, and the Saints won it in the second OT. The Trojans finished with a record of 8-6-1.
