JORDAN – In very different ways, the Skaneateles and Marcellus boys soccer teams earned the right to face one another with the Section III Class B championship at stake.
Anchored by a defense that has been its strength all season, the no. 4 seed Lakers upended top seed South Jefferson 1-0 in the first of the two sectional semifinals played Tuesday night at Jordan-Elbridge High School.
Then, in the second semifinal, the no. 3 seed Mustangs leaned on its quick-strike attack and, getting a hat trick from senior forward Ryan Constable, took out no. 2 seed Westhill by a 4-1 margin.
Though it’s the reigning state Class B champions, Skaneateles went through plenty of ups and downs in the regular season against a top-flight schedule, but now have won six games in a row, all of them shutouts.
And it was once again the Lakers’ defense at the center of its efforts against South Jefferson, a top seed who had built much of its 12-1-2 record against Frontier League competition not as consistently difficult as that in the Onondaga High School League.
Rarely in the first half did the Spartans get much going against a Skaneateles back line anchored by Casey Kenan and Jeff McCrone, with ample help from Carter Corbett and Max Karpinski.
Still, according to head coach Pete O’Connor, his team “was subpar the whole game”, even in a stretch late in the first half where it had several chances to go in front but could not convert them.
Kenan, with his trademark throw-ins, maintained the pressure and, nine minutes into the second half, one of his long throws from the right corner slipped through South Jefferson defenders and was pushed by Sean Kerwick into the net.
From there, the Spartans went on an all-out attack for the last 30-plus minutes, earning several free kicks and corner kicks. Every time, though, the Lakers’ back line got in the way, either with timely deflections or with good defensive position that mostly kept goalie Evan Wingfield from having to make tough stops.
Now Skaneateles watched as Marcellus, who had shut out Westhill 3-0 when they met in the regular season, managed to match that winning margin, largely due to Constable’s ability to convert any time he had a good opportunity.
Just 9:08 into the game, the Mustangs caught a break when a Westhill handball inside the 18-yard box led to a penalty kick, which Constable sent to the top left corner of the net.
While a steady defense continually frustrated the Warriors, the Mustangs probed and, late in the half, made it 2-0 when Jacob LaFever’s long pass from midfield found Constable up the middle, and his low shot flew past Westhill goalie Charles DeMore.
Then, just 50 seconds into the second half, Constable again burst free up the middle, again using a low shot to find the net and complete the hat trick as the margin grew to three.
Westhill quickly cut it to 3-1 on Emmet Starowicz’s goal, but despite heavy pressure the Warriors could not get closer, stopped by a Mustangs back line that never let itself get rattled.
With 11:55 left, Marcellus sealed it when Constable’s free kick slipped out of DeMore’s grasp and back to the point, where Joe Murray was able to send a low shot to the left side of the net.
