CENTRAL NEW YORK – Maybe it was foreshadowing that the Skaneateles boys soccer team sneaked back into the state Class B rankings at the no. 20 spot, still behind a Solvay side at no. 16 the Lakers have beaten twice this fall.
No matter where they are ranked, the fact remains that no one since 2018 has beaten the Lakers in the post-season, a remarkable thing to consider as, again, the Section III playoffs get underway later this week.
Skaneateles continued to round into form last Tuesday by beating Section IV’s Lansing 3-1, surrendering a first-half goal but still moving out in front and getting away with a late-game tally.
Twice, Sean Kerwick scored, with Finnegan Ryan also getting a goal. Sam Ryan and Teague Foley each had assists.
Back in league action on Thursday, Skaneateles hosted Cazenovia and won big, 4-0, a sharp contrast to the come-from-behind, 2-1 decision it had to pull out the last time these two Lakers sides met.
Here, it was 2-0 by halftime and there was no rally. David Petercsak led the way, his goal and two assists complemented by Ryan and Andrew Falkenberg also finding the net as Ryan and Devon Gryzlo picked up assists.
This happened as Marcellus, who had given Solvay its other defeat in the regular season, beat the Bearcats again, displaying a different gear it has rarely been able to show this fall on the way to a 3-0 decision.
Unlike some previous outings, the Mustangs were far more balanced on this night, its three goals coming from three different players – Austin Raicht, Matthias Ferrara and Aaron Weber – with Will Louer picking up an assist.
Just as important was the way Marcellus kept the ball in Solvay’s end for long stretches and sprayed the Bearcats’ net. Only Redd Long’s 22 saves kept his side within reach.
To its credit, Solvay recovered Thursday and defeated Phoenix 2-0. Sam Chipman not only got a goal, he assisted on Miguel Limia’s tally as the Firebirds took 11 shots, but Long stopped all of them.
Marcellus won on Thursday, too, blanking DeRuyter 4-0 as Connor Ciota went to the forefront, landing a pair of goals. The others went to Ryan Welch and Maxwell Camp, with Raicht and Colden Kwasnowski getting assists.
Then the Mustangs had to do what Westhill did earlier in the week when its shutout streak was snapped – namely, try and conquer state Class AA no. 3-ranked Christian Brothers Academy.
Ciota did get a goal, assisted by Raicht, in the second half, but Marcellus still lost 3-1 to the Brothers, who got single goals from Connor Morgia, Juliuz Pichardo-Kemp and Sean Broschart and had goalie Ryan Petrie stop nine of the Mustangs’ 10 shots.
Bishop Ludden struggled Thursday night in a 2-0 defeat to Fabius-Pompey. The Gaelic Knights were held to four shots, the Falcons winning it thanks to goals by Andrew Ward and Dana Ingersoll.
Jordan-Elbridge/Cato-Meridian lost last Tuesday to Syracuse Academy of Science 6-0, unable to contain an Atoms attack led by Sharif Hussein, who had a three-goal hat trick as teammate Will Capra had a goal and two assists.
The Eagles did get on the board Thursday against Tully, but still lost 4-1 to the Black Knights. Josh Makarchuk’s goal prevented the shutout, Shannon Ahern earning 11 saves as Ryan Rauber earned two of Tully’s goals.
A 5-0 defeat by J-E to SAS followed on Friday as Capra’s three goals and one assist led the Atoms, while Ludden prevailed 2-1 over Mater Dei Academy to end its regular season at the .500 mark (8-8) with goals from Jack Ruddy and Jack Marvin, Colden Sheen adding an assist.
The new points system used to set up the sectional Class B playoff bracket rewarded the Lakers and Mustangs with the top two seeds and byes straight into Friday’s quarterfinals – Skaneateles against Cazenovia or Adirondack, Marcellus against General Brown or Holland Patent.
J-E/Cato made it, too, taking the no. 14 seed, meaning it will travel north Wednesday to face no. 3 seed Lowville in the first round. Bishop Ludden is the no. 8 seed in Class D, and will host no. 9 seed Faith Heritage in Tuesday’s opening round, the winner advancing to a quarterfinal Thursday against top seed Poland.
