The Cincinnatus boys soccer team made a statement to the rest of the CCL this week, beating McGraw 6-1 Saturday night at SUNY Cortland after earning a 6-2 win over DeRuyter Monday.
The Lions put the game away with four goals in the second half to open up a 6-0 advantage. John Schuyler scored twice and Koda Temple and Jack Stafford each scored once after the break for Cincinnatus. Head coach Jherrett Maroney knew a 2-0 lead in a rivalry game wasn’t safe and needed to tweak a few things to get more success.
“We did make a few adjustments that I think helped,” Maroney said. “Not just in the middle part of the first half, but going into the second half as well. I think we started to generate more in our attacking third, get chances and it was difficult for them to attack.”
Stafford opened the scoring 11:18 into the game off an assist from Schuyler. Schuyler took a shot that McGraw goalkeeper Zach Kahle had to dive for, and the ball hit Kahle’s fingertips and bounced right to Stafford’s foot. Caleb Souva put the Lions up two 5:47 later, sending a cross into the box that hit a McGraw defender and bounced into the goal.
McGraw came out of the gates hot, with Logan Moffitt, Calob Sutton, Thomas Bonyak and Blair Mulcahy flying all over the field creating chances. McGraw head coach Jamey Crumb was happy his guys got going quick, but felt the release after Cincinnatus had success was a killer.
“I think we started playing our game the first five to 10 minutes,” Crumb said. “I just told them that it was the first time all year that we got down and sunk in a little bit instead of coming out more aggressive. That hurt us coming out for the second half.”
Maroney was somewhat nervous his guys were a bit tired after a long week and slow start, but the Lions turned it around quickly to take a lead it would never give up.
“I think we were a bit nervous to start,” Maroney said. “Then again, we had a match the other night, so maybe a bit laggy. We had to work our way into it a bit. Once we did, obviously things did turn around pretty quickly.”
Crumb felt his guys consistently lost in the middle of the field and Cincinnatus took advantage of that.
“We lost a lot of 1v1 matchups all over the place and they can counter really quick,” Crumb said. “When we lose in the midfield, they’re good at connecting with a couple players up there.”
Brennan Wilson scored McGraw’s lone goal with 18:03 left off an assist from Moffitt. Kahle made five saves in the loss.
Schuyler and Stafford each had two goals and two assists for Cincinnatus, with Temple and Souva each scoring a goal and Wyatt Frink adding an assist. Collin Holtmart stopped six shots for the Lions.
Cincinnatus has made space at the top of the CCL standings, sitting at 6-0 in league and 7-2 overall. McGraw and DeRuyter are both 5-2 in league, with DeRuyter holding the tiebreaker.
Maroney has his guys in prime position for a second consecutive CCL title in his first season as the head coach. He can see the path and is more than happy with the way his team has been playing the last week after knocking off the top two contenders.
“I’m really pleased, quite frankly,” Maroney said. “We’ve had four games in eight days. We had a tough one at Tully in between, but these guys continue to impress me. Every time we ask them for a bit more they give more. Really, credit goes to them for being able to manage and deal with all the matches. I’m just really impressed by them, honestly, and pleased with their performances.”
Cincinnatus is back in action at 4:30 p.m. Monday against Madison at Stockbridge Valley Central School. McGraw returns to the field at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at home against DeRuyter.
