ONONDAGA COUNTY – Though it didn’t win at Cicero-North Syracuse on Oct. 2, the fact that the West Genesee girls soccer team stayed close in a 1-0 defeat showed that it wasn’t far from the top of the area Class AA ladder.
And that confidence carried over into last Monday’s game against Liverpool. Moving to the turf at Mike Messere Field, the state Class AA no. 20-ranked Wildcats held off the Warriors in another 1–0 decision.
On Futures night, the young soccer players in Camillus saw a WG side that continued to play solid defense, limiting Liverpool to three shots, all stopped by Jenna Orr.
Though not getting a host of its own chances, the Wildcats broke through when Eva Poissant, taking a pass from Ellie McMahon, beat Margaret Tifft for the game’s only goal.
Then, in a non-league game against Westhill on Wednesday night, the Wildcats lost yet another 1-0 match, with Lily Kinsella’s goal late in the second half proving to be the difference-maker.
Back on the field Saturday against Rome Free Academy, WG found itself in a fourth consecutive game where a single goal made the difference.
Unlike with Westhill and C-NS, though, the Wildcats were on the right end of the 1-0 decision over the Black Knights thanks to a decisive goal from Claire McManus, assisted by Tori Hulbert.
Bishop Ludden had seen its shutout streak end Oct. 2 against Jordan-Elbridge, but still won that game 2-1 and stayed steady at no. 4 in the state Class D rankings.
The Gaelic Knights went for 11 in a row against Syracuse United last Wednesday night. Again, it was close, but again Ludden pulled it out, this time a 1-0 decision.
Here was another instance where Ashley Pawelczyk used her special skills to make the difference, netting the game’s only goal off a feed from Annie Gaughan. Syracuse only took four shots, which Sarah Boyea stopped.
A 12th straight victory on Thursday against Pulaski coincided with Ludden’s Senior Night, a picnic and festive atmosphere that the Gaelic Knights augmented with yet another shutout.
Topping the Blue Devils 4-0, Ludden saw another freshman step up as Elizabeth Gaughan, Annie’s younger sister, scored twice, to go with a pair of goals from junior Faith Griffin. Ava Carpenter and Sophia Chemotti both finished with a pair of assists.
Up against Manlius-Pebble Hill on Saturday, Ludden did not let up at all, getting its 12th shutout and 13th straight win when it trounced the Trojans 5-0.
Roaring back to the spotlight, Pawelczyk netted three goals, the passes often coming from Gaughan, who had three assists as Griffin and Lexi Sheen also found the net. Boyea got credit for an assist, as did Jane Haggerty.
Going into the week at 3-6-1, Jordan-Elbridge saw its post-season hopes take a hit at Mexico, where it lost a 6-0 decision to the Tigers.
Between them, Eagles goalies Marrin McKennan and Alexis Delfavero had 17 saves, but Mexico still scored three times in each half as Adria Arola and Grace O’Gorman both had two goals and one assist.
Then J-E and Hannibal played to a 1-1 draw on Thursday night. Both goals came in the second half, with Abby Ahern converting for the Eagles off a feed from Brooke Tanner as Delfavero stopped 13 of the Warriors’ 14 shots.
