The No. 4 Cincinnatus boys soccer team scored three goals in the first 15 minutes and Jack Stafford recorded a hat trick as it cruised to a 6-2 win over No. 13 McGraw Wednesday in the Section III Class D first round at Firemen’s Field in Cincinnatus. The Lions will host No. 5 Manlius Pebble Hill in the quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Friday.
Jack Stafford scored the game’s first two goals, putting away one 2:29 in and another 6:26 after the opening kick. John Schuyler then scored 14:46 into the contest while moving across the box to his right.
Getting off to a hot start helped the Lions deflate McGraw early on and was key to their success.
“I was pretty pumped because our defense is super strong,” Canden Stafford said. “We put away the first two then another like four minutes later. I thought it was kind of game after that, but we kept playing.”
“It was very important because they (McGraw) tried to fight back,” Cincinnatus head coach Gordy Brown said. “At the 25th minute they started to possess the ball better and tried to come back. Those first three goals were kind of our safety net. Another team might’ve knocked another one or two of them in and then it really would’ve been a game. But I really liked our start today and I liked our finish too. We were aggressive all the way through.”
McGraw head coach Jamey Crumb was a bit perplexed by his guys’ slow start, especially with this being the third matchup between the rivals this year. Crumb knew what Cincinnatus wanted to do and thinks the players did too, they just didn’t execute.
“They were prepared because we know exactly how they play and they scored exactly how we’ve been practicing –– they beat us on the sides, they bring it in and we lose the marks,” Crumb said. “They were just better than us off the ball. We were ready but we weren’t mentally focused on that.”
Koda Temple made it 4-0 Cincinnatus with 17:31 left before halftime, heading a ball in the net off a corner kick from Jack Stafford.
Calob Sutton scored a goal 23 seconds after Temple’s tally, knocking in a cross from Ryan Parks that hit Cincinnatus goalkeeper Josh Roberts in the hand.
The Lions ended the game with a bang, with Caleb Souva scoring after a free kick with 13:01 left and Jack Stafford finished off his hat trick off a back-heel pass from Zach Streichert with 11:27 remaining.
McGraw made it 6-2 after a Cincinnatus own goal with 2:01 left in the game.
The Eagles end their season with an 8-7-1 record.
Cincinnatus will have a tough test with Manlius Pebble Hill, which beat No. 12 LaFargeville 7-1 Wednesday, in the next round, but the Lions feel prepared after blowing out McGraw.
“After this win I think we gained a lot of confidence going into the tournament,” Jack Stafford said.
Brown saw his guys raise their level of play in a postseason game and feels they have flipped a switch and turned it up a notch.
“They know,” Brown said.
BOYS SOCCER
No. 7 TULLY 7, No. 10 SYRACUSE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 1
Tully put up six first-half goals as the No. 8 team in the state’s Class C poll moved to the Section III Class C quarterfinals to face No. 2 Sauquoit Valley Friday.
Nico Marinich led the way with two goals and two assists, while Julian Shay contributed two goals and an assist and Ryan Rauber scored twice. Connor Bastedo also notched a goal and an assist and Ben Fleckenstein, Sean Mize and Michael Walker all had an assist. Oscar Breitzka made five saves in the win.
GIRLS SOCCER
No. 10 GROTON 2, No. 7 BAINBRIDGE-GUILFORD 0
Jill Zigenfus and Alexa Miller each scored a goal as Groton advanced to the Section III Class C quarterfinals. Zigenfus also had an assist. Groton will take on No. 2 Watkins Glen Saturday.
FIELD HOCKEY
No. 3 MOUNT MARKHAM/COOPERSTOWN 4, No. 6 HOMER 0
Aislynn Cobb made 10 saves, but Homer got down 3-0 in the first half and was unable to mount a comeback in the Section III Class C first round. The Trojans end their season with a 6-11 record.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
FOOTBALL
Southern Hills at Cortland, 6:30 p.m. today
Homer at Institute of Technology, 6 p.m. Friday at Fowler High School
Dryden at Susquehanna Valley, 7 p.m. Friday
Onondaga at Moravia, 7 p.m. Friday
BOYS SOCCER
No. 16 DeRuyter at No. 1 Poland, 6:30 p.m. today
No. 5 Marathon at No. 4 Afton/Harpursville, 3:30 p.m. Friday
No. 5 Manlius Pebble Hill at No. 4 Cincinnatus, 3 p.m. Friday
No. 6 Susquehanna Valley at No. 3 Dryden, 6 p.m. Friday
No. 7 Tully at No. 2 Sauquoit Valley, 6 p.m. Friday
GIRLS SOCCER
No. 16 Alexandria at No. 1 Cincinnatus, 3 p.m. today
No. 13 Tully at No. 4 Hamilton, 6 p.m. today
No. 12 DeRuyter at No. 5 LaFargeville, 3 p.m. today
VOLLEYBALL
Moravia at Odessa-Montour, 6:30 p.m. today
Whitney Point at Dryden, 6:30 p.m. Friday
