CENTRAL NEW YORK – A trio of determined and proven area boys soccer teams made their way into the Section III Class B playoffs, each of them bent on surviving the opening week and, perhaps, meeting each other for the highest stakes.
Defending its sectional and state titles, Skaneateles held the no. 5 seed and, in the quarterfinal round, would have to go on the road to challenge no. 4 seed Oneida.
This followed a 4-0 opening-round victory over no. 12 seed Homer at Hyatt Stadium where it was close for a while, but the Lakers, up 1-0 at the break, scored three times in the second half to get away.
Dan Ramsgard, with a goal and assist, led a well-balanced attack where Wyatt Langford, David Peterscak and Quinn Cheney also found the net. Sean Kerwick had an assist, as did Jack Phillips.
Oneida had ousted rival Vernon-Verona-Sherrill 2-0 in the opening round, but even on its home turf it could not contain Skaneateles, who battled its way to a 3-0 victory.
This time it was Phillips at the forefront, notching two of the Lakers’ three goals. Teague Foley had the other, with Petercsak, Casey Kenan and Finnegan Ryan each getting credit for an assist.
On the other half of the sectional bracket, Westhill was the no. 2 seed and Marcellus the no. 3 seed, bound for a semifinal showdown if neither side got surprised – which is exactly what took place.
Getting underway in Wednesday’s opening round, the Warriors handled no. 15 seed Clinton 3–0 as the Mustangs piled up goals in eliminating no. 14 seed Little Falls 6-1.
As he has done much of the season, Luke Gilmartin paced Westhill, hurting Clinton by scoring twice. Eric Holstein had the other goal, with Emmet Starowicz, Luke Infanti and Alex Cowin getting one assist apiece.
Now Westhill hosted no. 7 seed Central Valley Academy in the quarterfinals after the Thunder rolled past Phoenix 2-0 to get a shot at the Warriors.
Here it would also be 2-0, but go in the Warriors’ favor as its defense smothered CVA right from the outset and
Marcellus, meanwhile, was tested by no. 6 seed Westmoreland/Oriskany, who had bashed Cazenovia in its own 6-1 decision in the opening round, but found a very different result against the Mustangs.
Rolling to a 4-0 victory, Marcellus was led by Ryan Constable, who carried over his team’s success from the Little Falls game thanks to a goal and two assists.
Will Kershaw wasn’t far behind, earning a goal and assist, while Tristan Baker and Landon Kelly also put in goals. Though tested in the net, Rob Bartolotta stopped all eight shots he faced.
So it’s the Mustangs against the Warriors in a highly-anticipated semifinal next Tuesday at Jordan-Elbridge, with Skaneateles attempting to topple top seed South Jefferson and reach the Nov. 1 sectional title game at Phoenix.
