If it had to go through any other opponent, perhaps by now the Cazenovia boys soccer team’s long wait for a Section III championship would be at an end.
Yet each of the last three years, when poised to get that elusive crown, Westhill had stood in the way and not let the Lakers through.
What happened in 2016 and 2017 occurred again Monday night at Jamesville-DeWitt, with Cazenovia putting up an all-out effort against Westhill in the sectional title game and still taking a 2-0 defeat to the Warriors.
Much had changed since these sides had met early in the season on Sept. 8. Westhill won that game 4-1, but Cazenovia had improved plenty since then, and arrived at the sectional final hungry to change its recent fortunes in these big spots.
Ultimately, what happened in the first 20 minutes haunted Cazenovia the rest of the night.
The Lakers’ defense was sound and steady in front of goalie Ray Satchwell, and with an aggressive approach it created a few good opportunities to claim that all-important first goal.
Not even two minutes into the game, Trey Schug had an open look but pushed it wide. Joe Spires, who entered the game with 24 goals this season, nearly put one in during the 17th minute and, eight minutes later, had a close free kick that missed the target.
Gradually, Westhill picked up its attack and Cazenovia found itself defending set pieces, which it did quite well and it appeared that the game would stay 0-0 going into halftime.
But less than 90 seconds before intermission, another Warriors corner kick was converted as Bo BenYehuda’s cross floated to the middle and Jack Grooms sent in a strong header past Satchwell inside the top right corner of the net.
All through the second half, the Lakers tried to pull even, only to see Spires deal with a constant stream of double teams while other forwards could not get open looks, either.
The Warriors would use another corner kick to get the clinching goal with 13 minutes left. Here, the cross from BenYehuda deflected off several players on both teams before it found Braden Krzykowski on the left side, and his low shot fit inside the left post.
Having finished the season at 14-6, the Lakers see 12 seniors depart, including Schug, Satchwell, Justin Gagnon, Liam Flanery, Jack Aronson and Tanner Dydo, but bring back Spires, Brian Pezzi, Logan Comfort,. Max Michael and Chase Willard for another championship quest in 2019.
