Most of the time when they face each other, the Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool boys soccer teams are sporting strong records and are pondering where they fit in the local championship puzzle.
But in 2019, the first Northstars-Warriors encounter on Tuesday night carried much more uncertainty C-NS was only 2-3, while Liverpool had only won one of its first four regular-season games.
Still, it proved an exciting, tense contest with the usual amount of physical play and back-and-forth momentum shifts before the Northstars emerged with a 2-1 victory.
It was C-NS going in front 1-0 on Joe Barraco’s goal, assisted by Cole Rockwell. That lead did not hold up for long as Ujjwal Chhetri converted for Liverpool to pull his side even.
They remained 1-1 until Jawadshah Kasimi found the net, and it proved the game-winner for the Northstars, whose defense limited the Warriors to just four shots all night. Liverpool goalie Dan Schaeber had four saves.
With little time to recover, C-NS had to go to Swan Pond to face state Class AA no. 17-ranked Fayetteville-Manlius two nights later, and the Hornets defeated the Northstars 3-1.
It was Kasimi who put C-NS on the board in the first half, but F-M countered with goals by Ziad Abdul-Malik and Antonino Pagano. It stayed 2-1 until, with 5:52 to play, Cheech Pagano found the net, assisted by Riley Warren-Nichols. Dupell finished with eight saves.
Liverpool, meanwhile, had to go from here to face the other Class AA powerhouse, Baldwinsville, on Thursday night, and the state Class AA no. 4-ranked Bees kept the Warriors off the board in a 3-0 decision.
Though it had a fair amount of opportunities, Liverpool could not convert them as B’ville’s defense delivered a strong performance, with Andy Taylor stopping all six shots he faced.
The Bees gained a 2-0 advantage by halftime, and added another goal in the late stages. Brennan Walsh, Steve Foertch and Griffin Seeber had the goals, with Riley Bellknap and Gavin O’Connor each getting assists to overcome Schaeber’s nine saves.
All through next week, Liverpool meets Syracuse city foes with games against Nottingham, Henninger and Corcoran, in that order. C-NS also has a match with Corcoran before hosting West Genesee and B’ville.
