Just when it looked like the Westhill boys soccer team had regained some luster in the wake of a Sept. 16 defeat to Marcellus, it stepped back again.
The state Class B no. 13-ranked Warriors were expected to roll through last Monday’s match at Jordan-Elbridge, but instead got a taste of a much-improved Eagles roster that did enough to preserve a 0-0 draw.
Most of the 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime were played in J-E’s end. Yet Westhill could not place any of its 16 shots past Eagles goalkeeper Keegan Ferris.
This same J-E team that won a grand total of 16 games since 2014 ended up on even terms and improved its overall record to 4-4-2, still with a sectional playoff berth as its main goal.
But the Eagles had a letdown on Wednesday with a 5-0 loss to Faith Heritage, while that same day Marcellus broke a three-game skid with a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Mexico Tigers.
Goals by Ryan Lundrigan, Tristan Jarvi and Andrew Fragnito proved enough for the Mustangs as Dakota Baker earned a pair of assists. William Ruby and Logan LaFlamm earned Mexico’s goals.
Once at 9-0, Marcellus dropped its third straight game last Monday when it fell 1-0 to Christian Brothers Academy. Jack Harrigan’s goal, assisted by Andrew Kohlbrenner, was the lone tally for either side as Chris Cangemi finished with five saves.
It was Skaneateles that initiated the Marcellus skid when it rallied to beat the Mustangs 3-2 on Sept. 25, the Lakers following that up with a third-place finish at its own Finger Lakes Cup, won by Henninger.
Then, in last Tuesday’s game against Solvay, Skaneateles did not let adverse weather get in the way as it put together a 2-0 victory over the Bearcats.
Throughout the first 20 minutes, the Bearcats’ defense withstood the Lakers’ attack, and it didn’t change right away after lightning sent the teams off the field and into a half-hour delay.
Rain and wind lingered, and kept the game 0-0 until early in the second half, when Brendan Powers powered a 30-yard shot past Jonathan Gonzalez Perez following a pass from Tylar Moss. With 12 minutes left, Owen Cheney, denied several times during the game, was able to convert the clinching goal on a 25-yard shot.
At Homer two nights later, Skaneateles handled the Trojans 4-0, and it was another showcase for Moss, who in a big first half produced a natural hat trick of three goals as Cheney assisted on one of Moss’s tallies and scored himself.
When Westhill met Solvay on Thursday night, the Warriors, like Skaneateles did at Homer, put together all of its production in the first half and got a hat trick on the way to defeating the Bearcats 5-1.
In Westhill’s case, the three goals came from Kwinn Caputo, who broke out and three times put it in the net, helped by single goals from Brian Kenny and Will Delano, who also joined Bo BenYehuda in the assist column. Solvay prevented the shutout when Alex Wilsch scored off a feed from Ed Matysuk in the second half.
Weather affected other games last Tuesday, including one where West Genesee was supposed to host Liverpool as they’ll make it up this Saturday at 11 a.m. after the Wildcats meet Baldwinsville and Henninger earlier in the week.
Bishop Ludden was no. 11 in the state Class C rankings and 7-1-1 going into last Monday’s game against 3-5-2 Fabius-Pompey, but were kept off the board in a 1-0 defeat to the Falcons.
Jameson Andrews’ goal made the difference as the Gaelic Knights saw all eight of its shots snapped up by F-P goalie Sam Taylor. James McGarvey had six saves for Ludden.
Then Ludden lost 4-0 to Bishop Grimes on Saturday, seeing all eight of its shots gobbled up by Cobras goalie Matt Tarby as Deng Mawien scored twice to lead the visitors.
But the biggest news for the Gaelic Knights had nothing to do with wins or losses. Long-time Ludden head coach Oscar Vergara was chosen by the United Soccer Coaches group as a High School Coach of Significance.
Vergara was one of 41 high school coaches from across the United States to earn this honor, which recognizes coaches who, through character lessons, make an impact on and off the field.
