CENTRAL NEW YORK – Six area high school boys soccer teams made their way into the Section III playoffs last week with Christian Brothers Academy best situated in Class AA and three other sides able to advance to the semifinal round.
On a damp Saturday afternoon, CBA, the top seed, met no. 8 seed PSLA-Fowler in the sectional quarterfinal at Alibrandi Stadium and outclassed the Falcons 6-0.
A dominant first half saw the Brothers build a 5-0 edge, eventually seeing Connor Morgia score twice and add a pair of assists. Zach Walma had a goal and two assists as Grady Shanly, Nick Genovese and Caleb Buddie also converted.
East Syracuse Minoa, with its no. 3 seed in Class AA, had its own quarterfinal last Thursday against no. 6 seed Watertown and, taking over with a pair of early goals, earned a 3-0 victory over the Cyclones.
It was A.J. Graham leading the way by scoring twice, just his third and fourth goals of the season. Jett Winans had the other goal, with Jackson Tedesco, Joel Alvarez and Arnes Osmanovic each picking up assists.
Fayetteville-Manlius, as the no. 6 seed, had to play an opening-round game against no. 11 seed Oswego last Tuesday night and, despite some struggles on defense, outscored the Buccaneers 8-3.
Two-goal outings by Hugh Terreri and Harrison Kilmer were augmented by Andrew Nocilly getting a career-best four assists. Broc Pinerton, Tom Helmer, William Sul and Tyler Koehne also scored, with Andrew Black adding an assist.
Then, facing no. 3 seed Nottingham in the sectional quarterfinals Friday night, F-M tried to avenge two earlier defeats to the Bulldogs – but could not do so, its season concluding with a 3-2 loss.
Unable to convert an early penalty kick, the Hornets then watched as Mao Nkurunziza, Ebuela Bilengana and Mairo Kova all put in goals, enough to fend off a second-half charge where F-M twice converted, yet could not force overtime.
The Hornets’ season ended with a 7-10 record as the Bulldogs advanced to face ESM in this Thursday’s semifinal round, CBA meeting Central Square in the other semifinal and the title match set for Oct. 30 at Phoenix.
Jamesville-DeWitt also made it to the second week of sectional play, the no. 4 seed Red Rams routing no. 13 seed Carthage 9-0 to get its run in the sectional Class A tournament underway.
Seven different Red Rams earned goals, with Logan Oppedisano and Nikhil Suradevara each converting twice. Single goals went to Ben Kenna, Mahir Bechir, Bekzod Abdusattarov, Jisan Lamichhane and Luke Brazell, with Ramziddin Mukhiddinov earning three assists.
Now J-D hosted no. 5 seed Carthage in Thursday’s sectional quarterfinal, and again the Rams were impressive, scoring twice in the first half to get control and eventually eliminating the Comets 3-0.
Again, things were spread around, with Connor Burns getting a goal and assists as Lamicchane and Abdusattarov also converted. J-D’s defense again was effective, containing Carthage as Adam Rigdon only had to make four saves.
The Rams will try to take down top seed Westhill in Tuesday’s semifinal on the CBA turf, the winner advancing to Saturday’s title game at Fulton against New Hartford or South Jefferson.
Then there was Manlius Pebble Hill, holding the no. 5 seed in Class D but determined to make a long post-season run of its own, which it started last Wednesday with a 7-1 romp over no. 12 seed LaFargeville.
Up 5-0 by halftime, the Trojans ended the drama early thanks to Nick Lurvey, who eventually set a career mark with five goals, often fed by Brody Cook’s three assists or Sam Lurvey’s two assists. Dash Goode and Jacob Temes had the other goals.
MPH went on the road for Friday’s quarterfinal against no. 4 seed Cincinnatus, where things were tense for a while before a decisive second half where the Trojans converted twice on the way to a 2-0 win over the Lions.
It was Temes leading this late charge. With the game still 0-0, Temes burned Cincinnatus by earning a goal and assisting when Jeff Pisciarino found the net for his first goal of the season.
And it earned MPH a berth in the sectional semifinals Wednesday at South Jefferson against top seed Poland. The winner faces Hamilton or Lyme in the Oct. 30 final at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill.
Only Bishop Grimes, among the local sides, did not make it out of the opening round, the Class C no. 12 seed Cobras falling 7-2 to no. 5 seed Waterville last Wednesday night as Quinnian Mayne led Waterville with four goals and one assist.
