Though they would have to go in separate directions once the Section III playoffs started, the Jamesville-DeWitt and Christian Brothers Academy girls soccer teams always enjoy their mutual encounters. So it was fitting that the regular season ended with the Red Rams and Brothers squaring off at Alibrandi Stadium, a battle that turned exciting in the second half before a quick late flurry gave J-D a 3-1 victory. They had gone to overtime on Sept. 25, J-D prevailing 2-1 on Jessica Holmes’ goal, and there was no question that the Brothers put its defensive focus on Holmes in the second encounter. Sophomore sweeper Alexa Radziewicz stayed right with Holmes, never giving her space to run, and with some help from other defenders, that kept the Rams off the board in a 0-0 first half where neither side gained lots of traction. All of that changed midway through the second half, though, as sophomore Amber Hyatt scored in the 58th minute off a pass from freshman Alex Fontana to put J-D up 1-0. Less than two minutes later, Eva Gordon’s superb 30-yard kick into the top right corner of the net tied it, 1-1. And there it stayed until a frantic sequence late in regulation. With 10:18 left, CBA turned it over, and again the ball went to Fontana, who again found Hyatt, streaking in on the left side, and Hyatt’s low shot sped past CBA goalie Lindsey Evans into the net. Less than 90 seconds later, the Rams attacked again, and Holmes, finally with some room to operate, drilled a 25-yard shot into the net for J-D’s insurance goal. They had both played on Tuesday, and both had won, though in varying manners. J-D shut out Cortland 3-0, while CBA had to rally from behind to edge Mexico 3-2. J-D, on its home field for the last time in the regular season, applied relentless pressure against Cortland, taking 18 shots, but only led 1-0 at halftime before getting away in the late going. Caroline Kopp, with a pair of assists, anchored the attack as three different players – Fontana, Maddy Devereaux and Paige Sherling – earned those three goals. Sherling added an assist. Allison Butler, playing in goal, only had to make three saves. Playing at Mexico, CBA found itself trailing, 2-1 at halftime, as the Tigers got two goals from Amylyn Holland, with assists to Ashley Santmyer and Victoria Towndro. But the Brothers would increase its pressure in the second half, pull even and then get in front. Gordon, Marisa Romeo and Maddie Calkins each got a goal, and Evans made all the late stops on her way to six saves overall. Even with J-D and CBA squaring off, it was East Syracuse-Minoa stealing some headlines last Monday when it gave 14-0 Bishop Grimes its first loss of the season in a 2-1 thriller. Olivia Chopskie’s goal helped the Spartans forge a 1-1 halftime tie with the Cobras, who saw Kennedy Yearby score off a feed from Alex Guhin. They remained even, and appeared headed for overtime before ESM’s Caitlin Gagen pushed a shot past Grimes goalie Jillian Firenze with six minutes left in regulation. Firenze had 14 saves on the day, while Spartans keeper Kristen Raab had eight saves. Just 24 hours later, the Spartans were back in league play and beat Fulton by that same 2-1 margin, avenging a loss to those same Red Raiders a month earlier. This time around, Kaitlyn Shaughnessy put ESM ahead 1-0 in the first half. And Shaughnessy struck again in the second half, answering a goal by Fulton’s Jocelyn Ravesi, as Ashley Scalzo and Sarah Britton both picked up assists. Each of Kristen Raab’s 10 saves proved important, too. Two nights later, against the combined Syracuse city squad, the Spartans needed a second-half rally to produce a 3-2 victory. Goals by Ella Neville and Myadah Kaila had Syracuse in front, 2-1, through 40 minutes, despite the Spartans’ major advantage in shot disparity (20-4). But ESM caught up in the latter stages as Scalzo notched one goal and one assist, with Danielle Douglas and Caitlin Gagen also finding the net and Shaughnessy grabbing an assist. This strong finish meant that ESM would have the no. 8 seed in the Class A sectional bracket, which meant it had to beat no. 9 seed Carthage in Tuesday’s opening round to get a shot at top seed Whitesboro in the quarterfinals. J-D, after its fourth straight sectional title, is the no. 2 seed, enjoying a first-round bye and a bit of rest before getting no. 7 seed New Hartford or no. 10 seed Cortland in its quarterfinal. And CBA, moving up to the Class AA side, ended up with the no. 5 seed, going right into Thursday’s quarterfinal at no. 4 seed Fayetteville-Manlius, a team it tied 2-2 back on Sept. 29. x