If it could close strong, the Cicero-North Syracuse boys soccer team would carry a fair amount of momentum into the Section III Class AA playoffs.
The Northstars visited Corcoran last Tuesday night and emerged with a 5-2 victory over the Cougars, and would then host West Genesee on Thursday night at Bragman Stadium with a chance to get above the .500 mark.
It did not quite happen, with the Wildcats edging C-NS 1-0, a defeat that ultimately left the Northstars at 7-8-1 and waiting to see what playoff seed it would get.
Liverpool was undertaking its own late-season push, which commenced on Oct. 12 with an impressive trip to West Genesee where the Warriors shut out the playoff-bound Wildcats 3-0.
Then, at Nottingham last Tuesday night, Liverpool won again, Jack Pento’s goal sparking a tough 3-2 win over the Bulldogs to move the Warriors to 5-10 overall.
Back home Thursday to face Henninger, Liverpool prevailed 2-1 for its third win in a row, with Pento getting a goal in the first half to match that of the Black Knights’ Moo Hai and then finding the net again in the second half to win it.
Justin Pham and Brady Barnard both earned assists, and Dan Schaeber recorded five saves, with Black Knights counterpart Olivier Bienvenu finishing with nine saves.
As it turned out, that late charge did get the Warriors into the sectional tournament, as the no. 7 seed, bound for a quarterfinal Thursday against no. 2 seed Fayetteville-Manlius, whom it lost to twice in the regular season. Whoever wins earns a semifinal appearance against Utica Proctor or Henninger.
And C-NS, as the no. 5 seed, would get one more opportunity to knock off no. 4 seed West Genesee when the two meet in Camillus Thursday night at 6:30, the winner likely to challenge top seed Baldwinsville in the semifinals.
