CENTRAL NEW YORK – Great as it knew its defense was, the notion that the Westhill boys soccer team might go the entire regular season without conceding a goal was absurd to consider when things got underway late in August.
Yet deep into October, the possibility of it happening only grew.
Already with 11 straight shutouts, Westhill, no. 7 in the latest state Class A rankings, made it 12 in a row last Tuesday night against Cortland, blanking the Purple Tigers 5-0.
Tom Hunt got an extended turn in goal and stopped all three shots he faced. On the other end, it was Eric Holstein serving as the catalyst, delivering a career-best three assists.
Tim Cowin, among others, benefited from this, scoring twice as single goals went to Max Cowin, Luke Infanti and Josh Dabbiero, with Infanti tacking on an assist.
Meanwhile, West Genesee had slowly, methodically, restored its reputation as a tough-minded defensive unit of its own, claiming six wins in seven games, all shutouts, leading to a pair of showdowns with Class AAA favorite Liverpool less than 48 hours apart.
The sixth of those shutouts was last Tuesday’s 1-0 win over PSLA-Fowler, a game where the Wildcats limited the Falcons to just one direct shot, meaning that Jake McMahon’s goal, assisted by Christian Long, would hold up.
Then it was the twin bill against Liverpool, which on Thursday night at LHS Stadium featured the two sides both leaning on their defenses – not surprising, given WG’s record and the fact that the Warriors, no. 12 in the state Class AA rankings, had shut out nine of its 11 previous opponents.
E
ighty minutes of regulation went without a goal. Then, in the overtime period, Liverpool benefited from a Wildcats handball inside the 18-yard box and, on the ensuing penalty kick, Antonio Wilson put it past Boston Crandall for the game-winner in a 1-0 decision.
Their rematch took place Saturday in Camillus, and it ended with the exact same score – only this time, it was a second-half tally that allowed the Warriors to edge WG 1-0 and remain unbeaten, improving to 9-0-4.
None of the Wildcats’ six shots could get past Jacob McQuatters, who earned his 11th shutout of the season. The Wildcats stopped everything on the other end, too, until Wilson’s pass found Camden Farrell, who put in the go-ahead goal.
Jordan-Elbridge/Cato-Meridian earned its second victory of the season last Tuesday when, against LaFayette/Onondaga, it put together a 2-0 shutout, the goals coming from Emerson Derby and Josh Makarchuk.
A night later, the Eagles won again, topping Bishop Grimes 3-1. Macharchuk was at the forefront as he gave the Eagles a pair of goals, the other going to Gonzalo Garcias-Vinas.
