CENTRAL NEW YORK –
It did not take long for two prime championship girls soccer contenders to engage in an early-season showdown to see just where both of them stood.
Skaneateles, fresh off winning its first-ever Section III Class B championship last fall, took on Westhill, a side with the talent capable of grabbing the crown from the Lakers.
Also, there was the small matter of Skaneateles having not defeated the Warriors since the mid-2000s – a drought which ended here, the Lakers blanking Westhill 2-0.
Twice in the first half, Skaneateles pressure led to corner kicks, and the Lakers converted them, Paige Willard getting and Maddy Ramsgard earning the other, each off feeds from Isabella Pietropaoli.
Though Kate Bendall turned everything else away and finished with eight saves, Skaneateles thwarted each of Westhill’s attempts to get on the board, Mara Stanton recording seven saves.
They both were impressive in their season-opening matches, Westhill taking out fellow contender Clinton 3-0, Skaneateles beating Mynderse Academy by that same score.
Westhill broke through against Clinton’s strong defense thanks to goals from three different players, all seniors. Lily Kinsella, Kennedy Rose and Ashley Bolesh took turns finding the net.
Showing its balance, the Warriors also had three different players – Elle Herrera, Kara Rosenberger and Molly Dorfman – gain assists, while the defense held Clinton to five shots, all stopped by Kate Bendall.
Against Mynderse, Skaneateles leaned on familiar players, too, as Willard poured in a pair of goals and Julia O’Connor had the other, with Ramsgard getting two assists and Kathryn Morrissey a single assist.
In last Tuesday’s 6-0 win over Phoenix, Westhill saw Herrera, Kinsella, Rosenberger, Hannah Goodness, Bradyn Taber and Jules Bleskoski all contribute to the scoring total as Bolesh picked up two assists.
Skaneateles handled Chittenango 5-0 on Thursday night, with five different players – Morrissey, Ramsgard, Willard, Isabella Arroyo and Jenna DeWolf – earning the Lakers’ five goals.
A night later, it was Skaneateles against Clinton, a rematch of last November’s sectional final – and another victory for the Lakers, who claimed a 3-1 decision by netting all of its goals in the first half.
Ramsgard did the most damage, thanks to her pair of goals. Willard again found the net, with Morrissey and Claire Neumann getting assists as, constantly threatened in the late going, Stanton managed to stop 10 of Clinton’s 11 shots.
Marcellus opened its season on Sept. 3 with its own shutout, only the Mustangs were unable to find the net, either, during a 0-0 draw with Central Square.
This was an impressive effort, since the Redhawks had, the day before, knocked off Cicero-North Syracuse, a team that never lost a regular-season game in 2021.
Experienced, proven defenses kept things even, JoJo Leubner making 12 saves in goal for the Mustangs, who saw all 18 of its shots in 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime turned back by Redhawks goalie Samantha Haley.
Another OT game followed last Tuesday, against Mexico, but the Mustangs lost, 2-1, to the Tigers, this despite getting on the board less than six minutes into the game thanks to Janie Powell’s goal.
Early in the second half, Mexico converted a corner kick, Morgan Bectell tying it, and it went to OT, where just when it looked like it would end in a draw, the Tigers got another corner kick than Lily Duschen converted, overcoming 13 saves by Leubner.
At the outset of its Hall of Fame Tournament appearance last Saturday, Marcellus beat Canajoharie 2-0, with Corrine Aldrich and Lexie Fragnito netting second-half goals and Janie Powell adding an assist.
