ONONDAGA COUNTY – Two powerful girls soccer teams that just happen to neighbor one another got together on the first Saturday of September to test one another – and see who could claim local bragging rights.
East Syracuse Minoa squared off with Fayetteville-Manlius at Hornet Stadium, and the Spartans had one of the most impressive victories in program history, rolling to a 5-0 victory.
Both teams had already played, but this was F-M’s third game in four days, and its defense quickly was under seige as ESM converted twice in the first half for a 2-0 advantage.
And that margin only grew, again with Leah Rehm at the forefront for the Spartans, Rehm picking up a pair of goals and adding an assist while getting plenty of support.
Angelina Polcaro backed up her goal with a pair of assists, while Ava Burry and Jazzel Meikelham also converted. Khole Welch and Natalie Peterson earned assists and, when under attack, ESM turned it away, Isabelle Chavoustie stopping all seven F-M shots.
Two nights earlier, ESM had opened against West Genesee and put together a 2-0 shutout of the Wildcats.
Rehm and Peterson got the goals, one in each half, with assists credited to Polcaro and Welch. The Spartans’ defense held WG to four shots, all stopped by Chavoustie.
F-M had opened its season by going to Western New York to play a pair of Section III teams on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, starting out against Grand Island and roaring to a 5-1 win over the Vikings.
Morgan Goodman, expected to pick up much of the scoring slack after Lauren Clark’s graduation, did just that in this game, netting three goals for a hat trick.
Not only that, but Goodman assisted on one of junior Mary Coughlin’s pair of goals, with assists also credited to Una Vlasak and Jana Hodge, a pair of sophomores.
A day later, against Clarence, the Hornets lost, 2-1, in overtime to the Red Devils despite a second-half goal by Goodman, assited by Lexi Caron. Mackenzie Murphy finished with five saves.
After beating F-M, the next game for ESM was a 9-0 romp over Syracuse City where Ashley Praxi hit the limelight, earning the first three-goal hat trick of her varsity career.
Rehm, aside from her two goals, dished out four assists, while Polcaro had two goals and two assists. Peterson also scored twice and Burry tacked on an assist.
Then, against a Central Square side that had beat Cicero-North Syracuse the week before, ESM unloaded again, with Rehm the key figure as the Spartans stomped the Redhawks 6-0.
Constantly getting open against Central Square’s defense, Rehm piled up four goals, with the passes often coming from Peterson, who picked up three assists.
Polcaro and Burry helped out with goals of their own, and ESM dominated the possession, taking 24 shots to the Redhawks’ four.
