CENTRAL NEW YORK – Each of the area’s high school girls soccer team stared at important contests – including a couple against one another – during the last week of the regular season.
It included Tuesday’s match between Fayetteville-Manlius and East Syracuse Minoa on the Hornets’ home turf, where F-M gained more than a bit of payback in a 2-0 win over the Spartans.
Just 10 days earlier, ESM had used a goal late in regulation to top F-M 3-2. Now, though, the Hornets excelled on both sides of the ball in the rematch.
The Spartans took nine shots, all stopped by Mackenzie Murphy, while on the other end F-M converted once in each half. Morgan Goodman netted one goal, assisted by Madison Romocki, and earned the assist when Ashley Seidberg converted.
Then, completing a sweep of local sides, F-M roared past Jamesville-DeWitt 5-1 on Thursday night, seeing Goodman and Mary Coughlin each score twice and get an assist as Elyssa Barnhart earned two assists and Jana Hodge added an assist. Noor El-Zammar produced the Red Rams’ only goal as Lindsay Parker made 10 saves.
F-M went on to rout Central Square 7-0 on Saturday, Goodman adding three more goals to give her 26 for the season. Barnhart converted twice, with Macie Davey getting a goal and two assists and Coughlin also converting. Seidberg earned two assists.
Prior to this, J-D had fed off the momentum of an Oct. 7 win over Christian Brothers Academy when it went to Central Square Tuesday and put away the Redhawks 4-1.
What was a modest 1-0 halftime margin turned much more decisive as the Red Rams wore Central Square’s defense down. Lainey Bort led the way, scoring twice and adding an assist, while El-Zammar and Liliana Santoro also earned goals and Amanda Aitken tacked on an assist.
As F-M beat J-D on Thursday, ESM prevailed 2-0 over Fulton, a match where it took 15 shots yet only got in twice, Sophia Brooks getting credit for one of the goals.
Then, on Saturday, it was the Spartans topping Rome Free Academy by that same 2-0 margin and, more importantly, seeing Leah Rehm return to the goal-scoring column as she and Kyleigh Smith converted and Leah Chavoustie earned an assist.
J-D, meanwhile, met up with West Genesee, and despite eight saves from Lindsay Parker lost 1-0 when the Wildcats’ Anna Nelson netted the game’s only goal, assisted by Ellie McMahon.
Then there was Christian Brothers Academy stepping up on Thursday and, after a 1-0 defeat to Skaneateles last Tuesday night, responding with a 2-0 victory over Marcellus.
Defensively, the Brothers faced plenty of pressure from the Mustangs, but Cara Macaluso stopped all 11 shots she faced as goals by Ciara Duggan and Olivia Jones proved enough, the assists going to Emma Hill and Neveah Bacheyle.
Another local duel among the small schools last Tuesday had Bishop Grimes taking on Manlius Pebble Hill and the Cobras emerging victorious over the Trojans in a 4-1 decision.
The day completely belonged to Adrianna Scollo. The Grimes forward, who had just two goals going into this game, burned MPH for all four of the Cobras’ tallies.
Two of those goals were unassisted, while the other two were assisted by Myla Pankow and June Hilton. The Trojans had chances, too, but Grimes goalies Olivia Bitz and Bailee Halsey stopped all 12 shots they faced.
MPH fell 6-0 to Bishop Ludden Wednesday, catching a state Class D no. 2-ranked Gaelic Knights side angry from seeing its chances of an undefeated regular season ruined by Tully the night before. Ashley Pawelczyk led Ludden, scoring twice and tacking on a pair of assists.
Playing again on Friday, Grimes lost, 3-0, to Fabius-Pompey, while MPH took a 1-0 defeat to Onondaga/LaFayette as Gracie Burns’ goal proved the difference-maker.
All of the sectional playoff brackets came out on Sunday. F-M, defending the Class AA title, is the no. 2 seed and ESM the no. 3 seed, and will meet in the semifinals if they get past quarterfinal games on Wednesday – the Hornets against Fulton, the Spartans against Central Square.
J-D has the no. 3 seed in Class A due to the new sectional playoff points system and will meet Mexico or South Jefferson in Thursday night’s quarterfinal. CBA, as the no. 4 seed in a larger Class B bracket, draws no. 13 seed Adirondack in the first round as Bishop Grimes, in Class C, meets Stockbridge Valley in an opening-round match.
