CENTRAL NEW YORK – Leave it to the Christian Brothers Academy boys soccer team to pull off what 12 previous opponents could not – get a goal against Westhill.
Not just stopping there, the state Class AA no. 3-ranked Brothers added two more the rest of the way and beat the Warriors, who are no. 3 in the state Class A poll, by a 3-0 margin.
It helped, no doubt, that CBA was quite familiar with Westhill’s defensive strategy, the two sides having played to a 0-0 draw back on Sept. 29 which was the Brothers’ lone 2023 blemish.
All the pressure that CBA may have felt dissipated when it scored early and broke the shutout streak. Then it kept adding to that margin while its defense turned everything away, Ryan Petrie making nine saves.
Overcoming Westhill netminder Charlie DeMore’s seven saves, Connor Morgia converted twice, the other goal going to Zach Walma as Juliuz Pichardo-Kemp earned two assists and Nick Genovese added an assist.
As a follow-up on Thursday afternoon, CBA blanked Cortland by that same 3-0 margin, getting away in the second half as Morgia, Pichardo-Kemp and Walma scored and assisted on each other’s goals, the Brothers taking 21 shots to the Purple Tigers’ eight.
In what looked to be another crucial test on Saturday, the Brothers faced off with Marcellus and, again relying on its proven scoring threats, defeated the Mustangs 3-1.
It was only 1-0 at halftime, and Marcellus got on the board with Connor Ciota’s second-half goal, but CBA still got away as Morgia, Pichardo-Kemp and Sean Borschart put in goals, with assists going to Walma, Joe Ascenzo and even one from Petrie, who also recorded nine saves.
Then there’s Manlius Pebble Hill, who got so close to the sectional Class D title a season ago and will arrive in the 2023 edition with a lot more confidence despite dropping out of the state rankings.
This mostly stemmed from last Tuesday’s match against Fabius-Pompey, where an inspiring second-half comeback turned a multiple-goal deficit into a 3-2 victory over the Falcons.
These same teams had met Sept. 23 and the Trojans lost 3-0. Things looked as bad in the rematch as goals by Grayson Wallace and Colin Gleason staked F-P to a 2-0 advantage.
Answering this, MPH may have played it best 40 minutes of the season in the second half, furiously attacking, catching up with two goals and winning it with another. Sam Lurvey and Dash Goode scored, with Brody Cook joining Goode in the assist column.
Bishop Grimes, winners of just one game all season, fell 3-0 to Faith Heritage last Monday afternoon. Ryan Millay made seven saves, but the Cobras saw Henry Jackson score twice to lead the Saints.
Two days later, Grimes fell 5-1 to Tully, getting its only goal from Gregor Wagner in the second half, but only after the Black Knights had built a big margin with a well-balanced attack led by Ryan Rauber, who scored twice. Millay had nine saves.
CBA did gain the top seed in the sectional Class AA playoff bracket. After nearly a week to rest, it will host no. 8 seed PSLA-Fowler or no. 9 seed Fulton in Saturday’s quarterfinals at noon, the winner to get West Genesee or Central Square in the Oct. 25 semifinals.
MPH has the no. 5 seed in Class D, and will host no. 12 seed LaFargeville in Tuesday afternoon’s opening round, with the winner to face Cincinnatus or McGraw in the quarterfinals. Grimes, the no. 12 seed in Class C, visits no. 5 seed Waterville in its first-round match.
