CENTRAL NEW YORK – A pair of shutouts to claim the Fabius-Pompey Tournament title was just the first strong statement made by the Cazenovia boys soccer team.
The Lakers made it three in a row against Phoenix last Tuesday night, waiting a while to take control but then constantly finding the net late in a 6-0 victory over the Firebirds.
It was only 1-0 at halftime before Alex Ramirez led the getaway, with the Cazenovia forward recording a three-goal hat trick, the first of his varsity career.
Goals also went to J.D. Dolly, Dan Millson and Charles Aronson, while Ben McPherson, Jackson Wright, Dan Raymond, Michael Senehi and James LeFever each took turns picking up an assist.
Now the Lakers traveled to Chittenango last Thursday night, and in this Madison County clash it would go through 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime without a result.
Both sides were shut out in the first half. Cazenovia would get on the board when Sully Clarke scored off a feed from Brody Coleman, while Arthur Paul converted unassisted for the Bears.
And it would stay 1-1 to the end, with both sides unable to break the tie despite a fair amount of opportunities. Matt Compeau made seven saves for the Lakers, the same as Cazenovia counterpart Will Simmons.
Two nights earlier, the Cazenovia girls had its own impressive showing against Chittenango, riding a hot first half to a 7-3 win over the Bears.
All the Lakers did was roar out to a 5-1 advantage in those first 40 minutes, and by game’s end six different Cazenovia players had converted, with only Julia Reff scoring twice.
Leigha Fostvelt, with a goal and two assists, led a group where Katie Rajkowski, Dali Dennison, Caitlyn Smithers and Raeanne Thompson all scored, too, with Lily Clonan and Dinah Gifford earning assists.
Chittenango did have some production, too, with Madison Wagner netting two goals and assisting on the other, by Brooke Walters. Hannah Ruddy turned everything else away, the Laker goalie recording seven saves.
As a follow-up, Cazenovia prevailed 3-1 over Hannibal on Thursday, a match that caused some early concern when Jenna Cole’s goal helped the Warriors forge a 1-1 halftime tie.
However, the Lakers wore Hannibal down in the second half and, despite 20 saves from Warriors goalie Sophia Salladin, converted twice, with Reff and Rajkowski earning goals and assists credited to Gifford and Clonan.
Back at the Sean Gogging Sports Complex to face Homer on Saturday, Cazenovia fell 4-3 to the Trojans, who got all four of its goals from Gracie Patriarco. Rajkowski, Fostvelt and Thompson each scored for the Lakers, who fell to 2-2.
Chittenango’s boys rolled to a 6-1 win over Oswego on Saturday to improve to 2-1-1, with Paul converting twice and Josh Boulter getting a goal and two assists. Lawson Pagorek had a goal and assist as Elia Bonelli and Jacob Scheidelman also found the net, with Luke Dahlin and Nate Dziedzic earning assists.
Before all this, both teams from Chittenango finished their respective season-opening tournaments, with only the boys Bears picking up a victory.
In the Sept. 2 consolation game, the Chittenango boys flattened Oneida 7-0 for its first win of the season. Scheidelman scored twice against the Indians, with single goals going to Paul and Connor VanDee as Dziedzic, Boulter and Pagorek joined Paul in the assist column.
Meanwhile, the girls Bears lost 4-3 to Oswego, this despite Madison Wagner and Maryanna Garcia each getting one goal and one assist, with Jordan Wagner also finding the net.
After the defeat to Cazenovia, the Chittenango girls had a 1-0 loss to Phoenix on Thursday, unable to get any of its 11 shots past Firebirds goalie Sara Ruetsch. Courtney Carter had the game’s lone goal.
