Even as the early-autumn heat wave lingered into last week, there was no way it could get hotter than the mood of the Jamesville-DeWitt girls soccer team.
Having seen a six-game win streak disappear in a 1-0 loss to Fulton on Sept. 22, the Red Rams fumed over the ensuing weekend and then took it out on the combined Syracuse City team last Monday night in a 7-0 decision at Nottingham High School.
The fast surface led to plenty of scoring chances, and J-D had six different players earn goals, with only Emma Silverstein finding the net twice as Grace Thomas got one goal and one assist. Tonia Kousmanidis, Grace Dimkopoulos, Lainey Foti and Sydney Tanner also earned goals as Hayley Quackenbush and Grace Martin picked up assists.
Now J-D would go to Spartan Stadium Wednesday night to face an East Syracuse Minoa side it beat 3-0 three weeks earlier. Here, it was a bit closer, but again the Red Rams’ defense kept the Spartans off the board in a 2-0 decision.
Though ESM did not let the game entirely take place in its own end, the Rams possessed enough to assume control, and used one goal in each half to move in front. Thomas had one goal and Sydney Baker earned the other, with Tanner getting credit for an assist. The Spartans got just one direct shot all game.
ESM had just struggled in its own encounter with Fulton, falling 5-2 in large part because the Red Raiders roared out to a 3-0 halftime edge before Lauren Ott converted in the second half and assisted on Franchesca Polcaro’s goal. For Fulton, Hailey Carroll earned a three-goal hat trick, each of those scoring plays assisted by Jordan Coulon, who nabbed the other goals.
Recovering on Saturday, ESM beat Central Square 4-1, a game that turned when Mallory Ott bent in a free kick late in the first half. Two minutes later, a Redhawks foul inside the 18-yard box led to a penalty kick that Lauren Ott converted, and the Spartans were never caught,
Mallory Ott adding a second goal off Polcaro’s corner kick midway through the second half after Gabbi Strong’s goal put Central Square on the board. Polcaro capped it off with an unassisted goal late in regulation.
Fayetteville-Manlius went to West Genesee last Tuesday night and made it three wins in a row since its 2-5 start, edging the Wildcats 2-1 in a game where both sides were raising money for the “More Than a Game” Foundation and Upstate-Golisano Children’s Hospital.
Rachel Dobricki proved the key figure in this game for the Hornets, netting a first-half goal to match one by WG’s Sammie Snyder, and then converting again in the second half to break a late 1-1 tie. Sabrina Suriani joined Anna Hartzheim in the assist column as F-M overcame 10 saves by Wildcat goalie Liz Croft.
Now F-M would have to encounter a Baldwinsville team coming off its first loss of the season to Liverpool. Having lost 3-1 to the Bees Sept. 5 at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, the Hornets looked to get even, but lost by a similar 2-0 margin.
In the 23rd minute, B’ville went out in front on Simone Neivel’s goal, assisted by Carolyn Brussel. For much of the game, it stayed 1-0 thanks to a stingy Hornets defense, but F-M could not put together a tying goal, and the Bees sealed it when Hannah Mimas converted with 56 seconds left.
Christian Brothers Academy, who lost to F-M on Sept. 23, got an impressive 2-0 home win over Skaneateles last Wednesday night, patiently working through a scoreless first half before twice converting in the game’s latter stages to put the Lakers away.
Grace Hulslsander and Meghan McKeen earned those goals, while Tate Kohlbrenner and Mari Saya earned the assists. Each of the six shots Skaneateles took got stopped by Catherine Burns.
As a follow-up, CBA edged Solvay 2-1 at Alibrandi Stadium Saturday afternoon, with first-half goals from Hulslander and Cristina Barnaba and an assist from Kohlbrenner. The Bearcats nearly made it back thanks to Carly Devereaux’s second-half goal, but thanks to Burns’ eight saves, the Brothers held on.
Bishop Grimes saw its offensive struggles continue in last Monday’s 1-0 defeat to Cato-Meridian, yet another instance where one side had most of the chances, but could not convert as each of the Cobras’ 18 shots got stopped by Blue Devils goalie Meghan McCarthy, and a lone goal by Olivia Ford held up.
A 2-0 defeat to Bishop Ludden followed on Wednesday afternoon, Grimes unable to atone for a 3-0 loss to those same Gaelic Knights earlier in the month. Caroline Wilkinson made 10 saves, only giving up goals to Ludden’s Emma Driscoll and Laura Patulski.