CENTRAL NEW YORK – Denied for so long despite so many close calls, the Cazenovia boys soccer team set itself up again for both overdue glory and possible heartbreak with its latest venture through the Section III Class B playoffs.
Given the no. 4 seed with its 13-3 regular-season mark, the Lakers first were tested in the opening round Wednesday at the Sean Googin Sports Complex by no. 13 seed Phoenix, who were done in by the singular work of Jaden Kaplan.
Cazenovia prevailed 3-0, getting a goal from Kaplan in the first half which would have proven enough thanks to a stingy Lakers defense which recorded its eighth shutout of the season.
But Kaplan returned in the second half, not only landing an insurance goal but also converting a third time for the hat trick and making sure that the Lakers got a quarterfinal home match Friday afternoon.
Clinton, the no. 5 seed, came to Fenner Road off its own 3-0 first-round win over Sherburne-Earlville, but would meet the same fate as Phoenix did, with Cazenovia moving on thanks to a 4-1 victory.
Kaplan continued his post-season tear, helping the Lakers gain a 2-0 advantage by halftime and then pulling further away by landing two more goals to give him five for the playoffs.
Here, though, Kaplan got some more help. Nat Gale and Eliot Comeau also gained goals, with Cole Frazee and Eli Royer earning assists to offset the lone Comets goal by Henry Schweitzer. Jack Casey stopped five of the six shots he faced
Meanwhile, in Class A Chittenango emerged as the no. 3 sectional seed and, in Thursday night’s quarterfinal would face no. 6 seed Central Valley Academy, who ousted Fulton 3-0 in the opening round.
This was just the kind of game the Bears feared, one where top scoring threat Gavin Karwoski, who had 34 goals in the regular season, was shut down as the focal point of the Thunder’s defense.
CVA had plenty of its own chances, too, taking 10 direct shots, all of which Logan Bronner would stop to maintain the shutout and wait for his teammates to produce something.
They finally did in the second half, with Ryan Thousand taking a pass from Jake Wagner and putting home the game’s only goal to help the Bears prevail 1-0 and advance to a semifinal Tuesday at Phoenix against no. 2 seed New Hartford, the winner to go to East Syracuse Minoa Stadium Saturday for the finals against Jamesville-DeWitt or South Jefferson.
Cazenovia’s challenge in Tuesday’s sectional Class B semifinal is a large one – top seed and state no. 1-ranked Westhill, a team it did not meet in the regular season. The winner gets Lowville or Skaneateles at ESM Saturday in the title game that is paired with the sectional Class A final.
