CENTRAL NEW YORK – A late-season win streak has the Cazenovia boys soccer team in great position to earn a favorable seed for the Section III Class B playoffs that start next week.
Back on Oct. 2, Cazenovia had faced Homer and rolled to a 6-1 victory over the Trojans, notching four of those goals in a productive first half.
Jackson Wright converted twice, leading a deep, well-balanced Lakers attack. Sully Clarke had one goal and one assist, with Dan Millson getting two assists as Sam Wilcox, Brody Coleman and Michael Senehi also found the net. Forrest Ives picked up an assist.
Two nights later, the state Class B no. 12-ranked Lakers welcomed 8-1-1, state Class B no. 16-ranked South Jefferson to the Sean Goggin Sports Complex and, on a field soaked by two days of rain, still managed a pair of goals to beat the Spartans 2-0.
That production came from a pair of first-half goals, one each by Dan Raymond and J.D. Dolly. Then it spent the rest of the game protecting that margin, seeing Matt Compeau stop all six South Jefferson shots he faced.
Meeting Marcellus on Wednesday night, Cazenovia went quiet and lost, 1-0, to the Mustangs, who kept the game scoreless until Ryan Constable scored in the second half off a feed from Jack Sammon. The Lakers took nearly twice as many shots, but Marcellus goalie Adam Sullivan had nine saves for the shutout.
Then came Saturday’s showdown with Westhill, the first of two meetings with the Warriors in a six-day span, and once again the Lakers lost, this time by a 3-1 margin.
By the time Brody Coleman was able to convert in the second half, Westhill had already gained a 2-0 advantage. Compeau had six saves, but Jon Gratien, Owen Etoll and Dan Clarkner each found the net for the Warriors.
Chittenango was also having a fine season, which it proved again last Tuesday when it went to Jordan-Elbridge and shut out the Eagles 7-0.
Andrew Graf and Arthur Paul led the way for the Bears, each scoring twice and earning an assist. Gavin Karowski and Jacob Scheidelman both had one goal and one assist, with Josh Boulter also finding the net. Lawson Pagorek and Ella Bonelli also had assists.
Another road shutout came on Thursday, the Bears blanking the Solvay Bearcats 4-0 as Paul, Scheidelman and Bonelli each picked up one goal and one assist, with Pagorek also finding the net and Boulter earning an assist.
Moving to 10-4-1 on the season Friday, Chittenango defeated Tully 3-1, racing to a 2-0 lead by halftime as Paul, Bonelli and Pagorek were responsible for goals and assists went to Graf and Scheidelman.
Turning to girls soccer, Cazenovia entered last week at 4-6, but began to climb back to the .500 mark last Tuesday when it recorded a 4-1 victory over Phoenix.
It was Julia Reff and Anna Edwards leading the way for the Lakers, each of them scoring twice as Katie Rajkowski was credited with an assist. Sky Sanford played in goal and earned four saves.
Then, facing Marcellus on Wednesday night, Rajkowski put in a goal that helped push the game into overtime, but the Lakers lost, 2-1, to the Mustangs, who won it on Lucy Powell’s goal midway through the first OT despite Sanford recording 17 saves.
Back home on Friday, Cazenovia took on Mexico and lost, 3-2, to the Tigers, who saw Lilly Duschen score three times for a hat trick to negate late goals by Caitlyn Smithers and Lily Clonan. Riley Knapp and Dinah Gifford picked up assists.
Struggles continued for the Chittenango girls soccer team as it lost last Monday to Cortland in a 3-1 decision. Mallory Turner had two of the Purple Tigers’ three goals, with Maude Terwilliger getting the other.
