When it all shook out, the area’s trio of boys soccer teams in the Section III Class A playoffs were in the same half of the bracket.
East Syracuse Minoa had the top seed, and the “reward” was interesting, for in the quarterfinals it would have to face Jamesville-DeWitt, who was quite familiar with them, even though the Spartans won both regular-season meetings by 3-0 and 2-1 margins.
Then, if the seeds held, ESM would have to face Christian Brothers Academy, who was only the no. 4 seed, but sat at no. 3 in the state A rankings following its fast finish to the regular season, six spots ahead of the Spartans at no. 9.
Those seeds did hold, as on Friday night, after the Brothers had advanced by beating Whitesboro 2-0, the Spartans pulled away in the second half against the Red Rams, prevailing 5-1.
That it turned out more lopsided than the first two meetings wasn’t how it started. Joe Bertone’s goal allowed J-D to stay within range, even though ESM went out in front 2-1 by halftime.
It was in the second half that the Spartans took full advantage of all the attention the Rams were giving to Kyle Scalzo, who still dished out a pair of assists.
Todd Durantini scored twice for ESM, with single goals going to Sean Belcher, Luke Rosaschi and Jimmy Ferns. Conner Stark also had an assist as the Spartans overcame 13 saves by Rams goalie Logan Roadarmel.
J-D had earned its third shot at ESM by going to Central Square last Tuesday and using a pair of early goals to knock out the no. 9 seed Redhawks 2-0.
These teams had split two meetings in September, but in the third encounter the Red Rams got the jump it needed when Bertone and Jackson Carmen put in first-half goals, Mike Potamianos earning an assist. From there, J-D’s defense took over, protecting that two-goal margin as it turned back a host of Central Square attempts.
Before ESM knocked out J-D, CBA turned back Whitesboro, a game not entirely played in one end. The Warriors had plenty of chances, but Matt Buck stopped all 10 Whitesboro shots he faced.
Ben Vlassis assisted on goals in each half from Dan Mevlin and Tristan Kucera. In defeat, Warriors goalie Anthony Ruggiero was impressive, finishing with 15 saves.
Then ESM beat J-D, setting up the semifinal between the Spartans and Brothers Tuesday night at Chittenango. The other sectional Class A semifinal on Wednesday night pits no. 2 seed PSLA-Fowler, who knocked out defending champion Watertown, against no. 6 seed Fulton, who ousted no. 3 seed New Hartford. That game is at Alibrandi Stadium.
