CENTRAL NEW YORK – In the course of a 3-0 start, the Liverpool boys soccer team not only established itself as the area Class AAA front-runner, it proved it could win three different ways.
From the tough nature of a 1-0 shutout of Baldwinsville to controlling PSLA-Fowler 3-0, the Warriors worked through the openign week without surrendering a goal.
Very different, though, was last Tuesday’s 3-2 victory at New Hartford, a game where the Spartans solved the Liverpool defense to the tune of a pair of first-half goals.
Trailing 2-1 at the break, the Warriors maintained its poise, tied it and then moved ahead, ultimately seeing six different players get a goal or assist.
The three goals came from Bobby McQuatters, Dominic Giamartino and Albin Buja, with Ramiz Mehmedovic, Patrick Hyland and Dom Paolini all earning assists and Jacob McQuatters recording five saves.
Back-to-back games later in the week started against Henninger on Thursday where Liverpool again put together a 3-0 victory over a Syracuse city opponent.
In order to subdue the Black Knights, the Warriors, avoiding the early New Hartford struggles, led 2-0 by halftime and kept it going, Mehmedovic and Connor Lynch each getting goals as Paolini and Ajdin Bescevic joined Lynch in the assist column.
Hosting Canisius from the Buffalo area 24 hours later, Liverpool, playing a third game in four nights, nearly made it a clean sweep, but had to settle for a 2-2 draw.
All of the goals came in the second half, Canisius converting twice but Mehmedovic and Camden Farrell each putting in goals for the Warriors off assists from Paolini and Ryan Hope. Jacob McQuatters was active in the net, having to record eight saves.
As for Cicero-North Syracuse, it had lost to New Hartford and then tied Utica Proctor in its own Sept. 6-7 Optimist Tournament before heading into SCAC Metro division play.
Meeting West Genesee last Tuesday night, the Northstars kept the game scoreless until the second half, when Logan Scott and Sean Dunning both converted to help the Wildcats prevail 2-0. In defeat, Tyler Munnich finished with seven saves.
And it would not get any easier Friday night, with C-NS traveling to face Fayetteville-Manlius and, once again, turned back as it lost 4-1 to the Northstars.
Melfi netted just the second goal of the season on the Northstars’ part in the second half, but that was after the Hornets had gone in front 2-0 in the first 40 minutes. F-M pulled further away led by goals from Esref Canli and Abdalla Elfituri.
C-NS will try and turn this around Tuesday night in its first of two meetings with Liverpool at LHS Stadium before taking on Baldwinsville and New Hartford late in the week as the Warriors have a key early-season test against F-M Thursday night.
