ONONDAGA COUNTY – Two West Genesee boys soccer seniors, Anthony Augello and Casey Scharoun, made sure that their high school careers did not end just yet.
It was Augello, in goal, and Scharoun, with the decisive shot, that helped the no. 6 seed Wildcats outlast no. 3 seed Liverpool and advance out of Friday night’s Section III Class AA quarterfinal at LHS Stadium.
Eighty minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of overtime had elapsed, and neither WG nor Liverpool had found the net, the third straight time that the Wildcats had shut out the Warriors to go with a pair of 1-0 victories in the regular season.
Augello had received plenty of help protecting the net from Chris Moser, Kyle Klaben, Anthony Edgar and the rest of WG’s defense, which spent long stretches of regulation keeping Liverpool from getting too close despite a series of aggressive runs.
As the game wore on, the Wildcats did have chances, too, including a second-half free kick by Jadin Lyle that the Warriors’ freshman goalie, Jacob McQuatters, dove to stop.
The defense only tightened on both ends in the pair of OT periods, and with the game ending 0-0, it would take a shootout to decide who would advance to the sectional semifinals.
Both teams scored in the first round, including Lyle for the Wildcats. Then Augello stopped Lucas Smith in the second round and Anthony Pontello converted, putting WG in front 2-1.
After Christian Hope scored for Liverpool in the third round, McQuatters stopped Tyler Wavercak, and it was tied again, 2-2. Each side then made their fourth shots, with Christian Long keeping WG even.
Now, in the final round, Warriors senior Edis Omerovic took his turn, and shot to the left – where Augello dove to make the stop right at the post.
Scharoun now made the slow walk from midfield to the spot. The midfielder wasted little time as the whistle blew, firing right as McQuatters dove left, into an open net, igniting a celebration among the Wildcats’ players.
Next Wednesday night, WG will face no. 2 seed Utica Proctor in the sectional semifinal, the Raiders having survived its own round of penalty kicks with Nottingham to get this far. The winner plays Fayetteville-Manlius or Cicero-North Syracuse in the Nov. 1 title game at Phoenix.
A night earlier, in the opening round of the Class D sectional playoffs, Bishop Ludden, the no. 12 seed, saw its season end in a 3-2 defeat to no. 5 seed Hamilton.
The Gaelic Knights scored in the first half but still trailed 2-1 at the break, watching as the Emerald Knights matched them in the second half and held on from there.
Roberto Scutari scored for Ludden and Andrew Towsley picked up an assist. Peyton Werner, Teddy Freeth and Nico Hay scored as Hamilton advanced to face Fabius-Pompey in the quarterfinals and the Gaelic Knights finished with a 6-9-2 record.
