With the two most recent state Class B championships on their resumes, the Skaneateles and Westhill boys soccer teams were accustomed to playing in – and winning – games with high stakes.
And while the 2020 season would not feature any kind of post-season action, something close to that intensity would be on display when the Lakers and Warriors went head-to-head twice in a 13-day span.
In their first encounter last Saturday afternoon, Westhill wasted no time – 30 seconds, to be exact – going out in front, and stayed there all the way as it shut out the Lakers 3-0.
That opening-minute tally proved to be the game-winner, the Warriors seeing Danny Carkner push a shot from the right side that Lakers goalie Neumann could hot handle, allowing Bo BenYehuda to pounce on the rebound and convert.
Ten minutes later, it was 2-0, again due to BenYehuda, whose free kick from a sharp angle on the left side got pushed home by Emmett Starowitz. To cap it off, BenYehuda scored on a near-perfec free kick with 2:44 left.
All game long, BenYehuda drove the Lakers crazy, mostly through his dribbling and ball-possession skills that allowed for both opportunities to score and clearances whenever Skanetaeles pushed toward the net.
Defenders Griffin Grooms, Ben King, Jon Gratien and Pat Mahoney took turns marking the Lakers’ forwards and, in turn, rarely did Brady Mannion faced a tough chance.
Westhill had opened its season back on Tuesday, traveling to Mexico and displaying steady production on the way to a 6-0 shutout of the Tigers. BenYehuda found the net twice, but so did Carkner as single goals went to Startowitz and Henry Centore.
Another 6-0 victory followed on Thursday night, Westhill this time dismissing Phoenix behind two-goal outings from Brian Kenny and Jackson Powers. BenYehuda notched three assists as he and Carkner both had single goals.
That same night, Skaneateles got underway, welcoming Mexico on Senior Night and, unlike Westhill, could not produce a shutout, but did match the Warriors’ production in a 6-2 victory.
Racing out to a 3-0 halftime lead, the Lakers did face some late-game defensive lapses, yet were able to pull further away as Landon Hellwig and Max Wamp both scored twice.
Aidan Chabot and Nick Cerimeli had the other goals, with Colin Gaglione getting two assists and single assists going to Ryan Willard, Alex Arefyev and Wyatt Langford.
Marcellus did not have the same kind of start as their neighbors, beaten 2-1 by New Hartford. Matt Radley had one goal and assist for the other for the Spartans as Landon Kelly had the Mustangs’ lone tally, assisted by Ryan Constable.
West Genesee, who had pushed Baldwinsville to overtime in its Oct. 2 opener, had a far more difficult time with Fayetteville-Manlius at Swan Pond six days later.
The Wildcats lost, 7-1, to the Hornets, who raced out 4-0 by halftime and didn’t let up, Nino Pagano leading F-M as he notched three goals and an assist, with Ziad Abdul-Malak adding a goal and two assists.
But WG would get into the win column Saturday, blanking Cortland 2-0 to break its early skid.
Before all these other teams got underway, Bishop Ludden did so on Oct. 3, meeting Mater Dei Academy, the private school based in Warners.
Mater Dei prevailed 4-3, with Joe Mariani and Tom Halligan each scoring twice to overcome two goals by the Gaelic Knights’ Michael Gaughan and a tally by Colden Sheen. Sam Colella had an assist as Michael Losi earned eight saves.
