When high post-season stakes are added to the rivalry between Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool, the joy on one side, and pain on the other, only grows.
And that especially held true Tuesday night in the Section III Class AA boys soccer semifinals, where the Northstars prevailed, 1-0, in overtime over the Warriors to advance to the title game against Baldwinsville.
Joe Baracco delivered the winning goal less than five minutes into the first OT period, heading in a ball directed to him by Brody Scorzelli after a free kick was delivered by Carter Jackson near midfield.
The meaning of this result went beyond one team advancing and the other seeing its season end. The loss ended the tenure of long-time Liverpool head coach Doug Nunn.
In 20 seasons leading the Warriors, Nunn’s teams won 252 games against 93 defeats and 31 draws. And it included all kinds of memorable battles against the Northstars. However, these teams had not met in a sectional semifinal since 2004.
As if that history wasn’t enough, C-NS and Liverpool had split two regular-season meetings, with the Warriors prevailing 2-0 in mid-September at the Gillette Road complex, but the Northstars getting even 2-1 in another OT decision two weeks later.
This, too, would go beyond regulation, though from the outset C-NS found itself constantly in the best position to avoid that scenario.
Aggressive and confident, the Northstars took the game to the Warriors, taking full advantage of the absence of Jack Pento, one of Liverpool’s top defenders.
A pattern soon developed, though. C-NS would generate opportunties, whether through its attack or by plays that set up a multitude of free kicks and corner kicks.
All of them were turned away, though, with the Northstars, any time it could get a shot, hitting it right to Ben White, who despite the wet conditions didn’t allow rebounds on any of his six saves.
On the other end, Liverpool didn’t find much room to operate as C-NS defenders such as Jackson, Isaac Bowne and Dan Klimen shadowed the likes of Jake Zona, rarely giving the Warriors solid scoring chances.
Only once did goalie Ethan Doerschuk get a scare, nearly fumbling a shot with six minutes left in regulation but able to hang on to the ball amid heavy traffic.
As the game drifted into OT, Liverpool tried to get more aggressive, but C-NS stayed cool and countered, forcing one more free kick. When Carter took it, White moved out, but Scorzelli beat him to the ball and passed it to Barraco, who nudged the header into the net.
Now, chasing its first sectional title since 2015, C-NS will challenge Baldwinsville, who is 17-1, no. 8 in the state AA rankings and beat the Northstars twice in the regular season.
