CENTRAL NEW YORK – Something strange and familiar happened last Wednesday afternoon when the Manlius Pebble Hill boys soccer team opened its 2022 season against Faith Heritage.
The strange part was having someone other than Don Ridall serve as Trojans head coach. Tim Goldman has taken over, and while that might require some adjustment for long-time MPH fans, they had to be happy with how it started – in other words, the familiarity of winning.
Maintaining control of this long-time rivalry, the Trojans beat the Saints 4-2, led by Sam Lurvey, who scored twice and got an assist as Nick Lurvey and Andy Lurvey both scored, too. Dash Goode added an assist and goalie Abe Salomon finished with seven saves.
MPH moved to 2-0 on Friday with a tough 4-3 win over Syracuse Academy of Science, where it nearly blew a 2-0 halftime lead but held on as Nick Lurvey got two goals and one assist. Goode and Alex Fung also earned goals.
Christian Brothers Academy earned its own big title when it claimed first place in the Sept. 3-4 Cicero-North Syracuse Optimist Tournament.
In the opening round, as C-NS defeated Central Square, CBA struck a nerve when it put away New Hartford 5-1.
Building a 3-0 margin by halftime, the Brothers got two goals apiece from Will Harrigan and Jack Griffith, leading the way. Connor Morgia had one goal and one assist, with Andrew Kohlbrenner and Zach Morgia each earning an assist.
Against host C-NS in Saturday’s final, CBA was successful again, claiming a 2-1 victory over the Northstars where it made a stirring second-half comeback.
The Brothers trailed 1-0 at halftime thanks to Dante Melfi’s goal, but Morgia turned it around, netting one goal and assisting when Santiago Betancourt-Trompa found the net. Rico Petrosillo assisted on Morgia’s goal and each of Billy Assaf’s eight saves proved important.
Two more road games followed, CBA going to Homer last Tuesday and seeing Harrigan completely take over during a 4-0 shutout of the Trojans.
All four times that the Brothers scored, Harrigan put the ball in the net, an effort helped by assists from four different players – Betancourt-Trompa, Griffith, Morgia and Sovran Kodall. Finn Wheeler and Ryan Petrie combined to stop all eight shots they faced.
Then, against Marcellus Thursday night, the Brothers’ defense had to put up a strong effort to turn back the Mustangs in a 2-0 victory.
Marcellus took nine shots, but Wheeler gathered in all of them for the shutout. Thus, single goals in each half, earned by Morgia and Betancourt-Trompa, proved enough, with Petrosilo and Zack Walma earning assists.
Jamesville-DeWitt waited until last Wednesday night to open its season, against Auburn, and the Red Rams were successful, edging the Maroons 2-1.
Goals by T.J. Tanner and Emile Antoine got J-D in front, with Kyan Barbuto adding an assist. A stingy Rams defense that limited Auburn to just three shots made sure the lead stuck.
A 3-0 shutout of Fulton followed on Friday night, the Rams again proving that it has the capability of challenging ESM for both league and sectional honors. Tanner, Antoine and Nate Cottet all had first-half goals, with T.J. Brackett picking up an assist.
A third win in four days came on Saturday, J-D routing Oswego 7-0 with goals from six different players. Antoine, Liam Scott, Ian McIntyre, Logan Oppedisano, Kai Brutsaert and Moujahid Cherif all took turns finding the net, while Connor Burns, Mike Meskos, Mahir Bechir and Athan Cirman got assists.
Bishop Grimes, who wonjust twice in 2021, again found itself in a rough position following its season-opening 4-1 loss to Jordan-Elbridge on Sept. 1.
Down 1-0 at halftime, the Cobras got a goal from Joey Ferraro assisted by Cooper Boots, but the Eagles still pulled away, led by Mason Carvey, whose three goals produced a hat trick.
Grimes then fell to Solvay 2-0 on Sept. 3, with Greg Docos picking up 15 saves but the Bearcats using two goals by Sam Gonzalez to pull it out. But the Cobras beat Phoenix 4-1 on Saturday with two goals from Boots and tallies from Vitor Azeredo and Ricardo Morales.
