CENTRAL NEW YORK – Experience and poise could again take the West Genesee girls soccer team a long way in 2024.
The Wildcats demonstrated this maturity in last Tuesday’s game at Cicero-North Syracuse, trailing in the second half before rallying to beat the Northstars 3-2 in overtime.
This was a clash of two reigning sectional champions, though C-NS (Class AAA) had seen many key players depart and WG (Class AA) had not, which only made the game’s flow more perplexing.
With a freshman-happy lineup, the Northstars applied most of the pressure, forcing West Genesee into a constant defensive mode and getting all sorts of opportunities turned back by Julia Poissant, who finished with 13 saves.
What’s more, C-NS wasn’t discouraged by an early Wildcats goal on a Chelsea Donaldson penalty kick, tying it early in the second half on Sloane Raymond’s goal and taking a 2-1 lead when Abby Mackey converted off a corner kick.
But just two minutes after Mackey put the Northstars in front, another handball insides its own 18-yard box led to a second Donaldson penalty kick conversion, which tied it 2-2.
Fresher and more energetic, WG attacked hard late in regulation and carried it into OT, where just 2:37 into the extra period Kyra Lynch headed home a corner kick past Natalie LaPoint to end it.
Bishop Ludden won its third in a row last Wednesday at Pulaski, the Gaelic Knights blanking the Blue Devils 4-0 as it dashed out to a 3-0 edge by halftime.
Jane Fallon would score twice, with Elizabeth Gaughan and Evelyn Allers also scoring. Ashley Pawelczyk and Brynn Marvin each earned a pair of assists.
In Friday’s game against Onondaga/LaFayette, Ludden extended the win streak to four, prevailing 7-0 as Pawelczyk and Fallon both had two goals and one assist. Allers and Marvin chimed in with one goal and one assist apiece as Chemotti added a goal and assists were credited to Grace Olivia, Claire Olivia and Tess Gilbertson.
Jordan-Elbridge was kept quiet by Cortland last Tuesday night in another 4-0 decision. Quinn Dodds (two goals) and Kartyr Hubbard (one goal, one assist) led a Purple Tigers attack which scored twice in each half overcoming Kelsey Brunelle’s 18 saves.
More frustrating was Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat to Onondaga/LaFayette where Brunelle made 14 saves, but in the second half Aliyah Mattox netted the game-winning goal for the Tigers as its goalie, Jaiden Bellinger, stopped all eight of the Eagles’ shot attempts.
Far more dififcult for J-E was Saturday’s 9-0 defeat to Mexico, who had drawn Westhill 1-1 earlier in the week and further displayed its improvement at the Eagles’ expense. Brunelle finished with 16 saves as Allie Poissant led the Tigers with four goals.
