CENTRAL NEW YORK – All season long, it appears that the Jamesville-DeWitt girls soccer team is fated to chase East Syracuse Minoa for both league and Section III Class A honors, the two sides squaring off early this week at Spartan Stadium.
So it was imperative for the Red Rams to take care of other league foes, as it did last Tuesday night when it hosted Cortland and cruised to a 5-0 win over the Purple Tigers.
Megan Baker, relatively contained through the early portion of the season as defenses converged on her, broke out against Cortland, scoring twice and earning a pair of assists.
Harmony Russell helped with one goal and one assist. Meghan Kenna and Amanda Aitken also converted, with Brooke Bort picking up an assist.
Easy as this game was, Saturday’s match against Fulton proved quite different, with J-D needing every bit of its firepower to battle past the Red Raiders 5-4.
It took every bit of Baker’s four goals, along with a tally from Russell, to negate goals from four different Fulton players as Bort picked up three assists and Aitken also had an assist. J-D’s overall record improved to 5-1-1 ahead of the ESM clash.
Christian Brothers Academy went to Hyatt Stadium last Tuesday to face 5-0, defending sectional Class B champion Skaneateles, who controlled matters most of the way and defeated the Brothers 2-0.
First-half goals by Kathryn Morrissey and Paige Willard gave Skaneateles a cushion as Maddy Ramsgard and Reese Gaidis both picked up asssists.
Doing the rest of the work, the Lakers’ defense constantly interrupted CBA, holding it to just two shots all night.
Then the Brothers turned it around on Friday afternoon at Chittenango, blanking the Bears 4-0 as Rimma Mankiewicz, playing in goal, stopped all 10 shots she faced.
Well-balanced in its attack, CBA got goals from Katherine Williamson, Emma Hill and Francesca Canzano, helping it improve its record to 3-2 overall.
Meanwhile, local rivals Bishop Grimes and Manlius-Pebble Hill clashed last Tuesday afternoon, with the Cobras overwhelming the Trojans by a score of 6-2.
What was a tight game broke open in the second half when Grimes, up 2-1, scored four more times, the attack led by Loyi Mugushu, who earned a three-goal hat trick.
Chloe Spencer converted twice, with Telhia Hosea adding a goal. Angelina Delledera had two assists as single assists went to Rosalie Vincent and June Hilton. Abby Hinshaw had both of MPH’s goals, one in each half.
MPH and Onondaga/LaFayette played to a 1-1 draw on Thursday afternoon. Emily Fadda-Conrey’s second-half goal answered one by Isabella Mango, and it stayed even through 20 minutes of OT, Mira Fadda-Conrey piling up 25 saves to keep her side close.
As that went on, Grimes lost, 2-0, to Tully, falling to 1-5 on the season. Goals by Alexa Shay and Veronica Kowalewski put the Black Knights in front, overcoming Olivia Bitz’s 20 saves. The Cobras managed just four shots all game.
