Upended by Fayetteville-Manlius on Sept. 7, the East Syracuse Minoa boys soccer team looked for a far better result when it took on its other neighbors from Jamesville-DeWitt on Thursday night.
It did not happen, though, as the Red Rams played superb defense from start to finish and edged the Spartans 1-0.
J-D’s breakthrough came in the first half as Tshike David took a pass from Will Quackenbush and put it past ESM goalie Almedin Smajic, the only thing Smajic would allow as he got six saves.
The rest of the game involved Sean Belcher and the Spartans’ high-powered offense trying to pull back even, but it could not do, the Rams back line formidable and Matt Gera stopping all eight shots he faced.
ESM arrived at this game following a tense battle with Oswego last Tuesday night, the Spartans completely dominating the game, yet having to go to overtime to subdue the Buccaneers 1-0.
This game was a tribute to the effort of Oswego goalkeeper Kyle Familio, who was under constant pressure all night and somehow managed to stop every shot he faced in regulation, 25 saves overall.
Only once did Familio get beaten as Sean Belcher, in the first OT period, took one more shot and found the net to give ESM a hard-earned victory.
As that was going on, J-D lost to PSLA-Fowler in yet another 1-0 decision, its first loss of the season. Other than a first-half goal by Mutama Mbarushamahoro, the Falcons could get nothing past Matt Gera, who made five saves, but the Rams were unable to pull back even.
Bishop Grimes had a special performance of its own in last Tuesday’s game at Cato-Meridian, where Jack Gutchess set a career mark in the Cobras’ 11-0 shutout of the Blue Devils.
Amid the barrage, Gutchess poured in five goals, and there was solid depth around him, too. Bam Mugushu notched two assists to go with his lone goal.
Good as that was, Grimes was more satisfied by what it did on Friday afternoon, dominating its match against private-school rival Manlius-Pebble Hill and taking a 6-2 victory.
Racing to a 4-1 halftime lead, the Cobras saw Mugushu and Deng Mawien both earn three-goal hat tricks, the pair proving potent in the face of a struggling Trojans’ defense.
MPH had won big last Monday, defeating Oneida’s Holy Cross Academy 6-2 behind the duo of Simon Hoke and Gopal Neopaney, each of whom managed three-goal hat tricks, plus a pair of assists. Brendan O’Malley also had an assist.
Yet none of that carried over into Wednesday’s game against Bishop Ludden, MPH overwhelmed in a 5-0 defeat to the Gaelic Knights where the visitors, up 1-0 at halftime, pulled away late behind Charlie Colella’s three-goal hat trick and two goals from Michael Gaughan.
