TULLY –– The Cincinnatus girls soccer team used a six goal first half to blitz past the Tully Black Knights 6-1 Thursday at Tully High School. It was the 23rd straight win for the Lions dating back to last season and their 10th win in a row to begin this season.
Cincinnatus came out controlling the tempo early on and Cassia Schuyler found space early and often. She struck for the first goal on a feed from Lucy Finch just over seven minutes in. Schuyler eventually followed with the second and third goals of the game, recording a hat trick in just over 23 minutes of action.
Payton Landers joined the party with her 10th goal of the season to extend the lead to 4-0 before Schuyler connected on her fourth of the night. The first-half onslaught came to close with 21 seconds left when Landers was able to punch home a cross from Schuyler and make it 6-0 at the break.
“I think we were playing a lot through the middle and that’s where we are most dominant,” Schuyler said. “Our middies were able to control the ball, which gave them the opportunity to spray to the wings and because of that we were able to spread out their defense and create chances. I think the first half we just exposed space and we were able to capitalize on that.”
Cincinnatus ended the first half outshooting Tully 9-0. Schuyler’s four-goal outburst ran her season total to 24. She has also added 15 assists in a season where she is the top scorer in all of Section III.
The Black Knights produced a response early in the second half. On a loose ball in the box, Wren Lawton was able to pounce and punch home her eighth goal of the season to make it a 6-1 game. The goal was the second scored against Cincinnatus this season. Tully generated four shots on goal in the second half and kept Cincinnatus off the board, but the first-half hole was too far to climb completely out of.
“I think just, overall, the second half we just had a little bit of breakdown, things that just weren’t working out,” Cincinnatus head coach Lisa Sustad said. “The girls were having a hard time communicating with each other as well and I think that led to the goal.”
Despite some second-half struggles for the Lions, they still posted another overwhelming final line. The current No. 5 ranked team in the state’s Class C poll has outscored its opponents 74-2.
“I think out strongest attribute to our team that other teams just do not have is we are physically and mentally strong in every spot of the field,” Schuyler said. “Our defense is strong, our middle is strong and our attack is strong and therefore we’re just able to combine and really attack, but also defend, which leads to a successful team.”
Tully hopes to build off what it was able to do in the final 40 minutes as it heads toward the stretch run of the season.
“I think we needed to see them,” Tully head coach Ashley Brunelle said. “The girls were doing a lot of containing defense in the beginning and Cincy was able to find some through balls that they were able to find some success with, but I thought our girls were continuing to fight they just got beat on a couple of balls. In the second half we really just talked about what we needed to do and what the goal was and the girls were able to respond to that. Big kudos to them for not giving up, they still came out in the second half and were ready to play.”
“Our biggest thing is just to be able to clean up touches,” Brunelle added. “The way they can one touch and redirect the ball, it just increases the speed of play. I think our girls are more than capable of that, but how our schedule has been they’ve been kind of able to get away with things. I think this was a good check for us with two weeks to go in our regular season. It was good for us to be able to see. There were a lot of good things that I don’t think the scoreboard was indicative of, but I’m really proud of a lot of things that we’ve been working on and focusing on they were able to show (Thursday).”
Cincinnatus will carry its unbeaten mark back into action 4:30 p.m. today at Otselic Valley. Tully will look to bounce back at 5 p.m. Monday, when it hosts Skaneateles.
