Sometimes a strong reputation can trump any other consideration.
When the first state Class B girls soccer rankings were released at the end of September, Marcellus held the top spot – even though it had lost to no. 9-ranked Skaneateles less than a week earlier. But that 1-0 defeat on Sept. 23 did serve as a reminder to Marcellus that it had to bring its best game, regardless of the opposition. One-sided victories over Hannibal and Red Creek by a total margin of 21-3 proved that the lesson had taken hold. And so did last Monday night’s easy 9-1 victory over Jordan-Elbridge, where the Mustangs rolled to a 3-0 edge by halftime and put up double that number in the second half, even though Brienna Fabrize scored on a free kick for the Eagles. Jada Sargeant had her best showing yet, the sophomore pouring in four goals, two of them on well-placed headers, while Brielle Filtch scored twice. Shannon Donahue, Karen Cramer and Molly Tice had the other goals, with Madi Belvito putting up three assists. Filtch joined Emma Blystone, Mia Montreal and Nicole Dillon with one assist apiece. As if that wasn’t dominant enough, Marcellus took apart Solvay two nights later, again getting well into double digits in a 12-1 romp over the Bearcats. Other than Chelsie Delperuto’s goal on a second-half free kick, it proved a Mustang showcase, especially for Filtch, who piled up four goals and one assist before it was done. Belvito had two goals and one assist, while Blystone, Tice, Laura Dailey, Bri Sammon, Molly MacLachlan and Keelin Kelly notched single goals. Sargeant, Nellie Ramsden and Meghan Witkowski joined Blystone and MacLachlan in the assist column. It expected to be a lot tougher for the Mustangs in Saturday’s game against visiting Cazenovia, who had just upended Skaneateles 2-1 two days earlier. But steady pressure, and strong finishes from a well-balanced attack, produced a 4-0 shutout over that other group of Lakers. Belvito put the Mustangs in front midway through the first half, while Donahue delivered a long shot that soared past eighth-grade Laker goalie Jamie Joseph into the net later in the half, making it 2-0 at the break. Not content with that margin, Marcellus got it to 3-0 early in the second half as, off a feed from Filtch, Wentworth drilled a header into the net, and with 8:45 to play she set up the final goal with a deft pass to Abby Fallon, who put the shot home. Ironically, when Westhill took its shot at Skaneateles at Hyatt Stadium last Tuessday, it didn’t get on the board – but it didn’t let the Lakers score, either, as the match ended in a 0-0 draw. Exactly one week removed from knocking off Marcellus, Skaneateles tried to do the same here, constantly on the attack throughout the 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime. Just as it had done by playing West Genesee to a 0-0 standoff on Sept. 23, the Warriors resisted it all as the defense was precise and poised, not letting Sam Peebles do too much, though Peebles still managed to record seven saves. More importantly, the Warriors had its fair share of chances, keeping the Lakers’ defense occupied and forcing its freshman keeper, Sophie Kush, to make eight saves and preserve the tie. Bishop Ludden continued to surge, edging past Altmar-Parish-Williamstown 2-1 last Tuesday afternoon as Nicole Granteed added another goal to her growing ledger, while Kelly Byrne also found the net. Kara Beamish added an assist as Gemma O’Kane needed all seven of her saves to help the Gaelic Knights hang on. Shayla Nichols had the Rebels’ lone goal. APW would also defeat Jordan-Elbridge 4-1 on Friday afternoon, led by Kylee Bartlett’s two goals and one assist. Fabrize accounted for the Eagles’ lone goal as Alexis Rouse earned the assist. Solvay recovered from the one-sided defeat to Marcellus by knocking off the combined Syracuse city squad 3-2 on Saturday afternoon, entirely due to Delperuto and Nicole Antonacci. A first-half goal by Delperuto, assisted by Antonacci, had the Bearcats in front 1-0 at the break. Syracuse used Flanagan Brown’s pair of goals in the second half to gain a chance to win, but Delperuto answered both times to complete the hat trick as, again, Antonacci got credit for the assists.