High School Game of the Week

Friday night featured one of the more anticipated matchups in local high school soccer as 9-0-1 Webster Thomas (now 10-0-1) downed the now 11-2-0 Brockport Blue Devils by the score of 1-0. Taylor Smith scored just after the halftime break to give the home side the only goal it would need to remain undefeated against a Brockport team that looks to be Thomas' chief adversary this season. While Brockport improved on their previous 4-1 loss to Thomas in the season opener, the win for Webster was certainly a statement win, sweeping the season series. Brockport, who has beaten every team it's faced not named Webster Thomas, will likely head into sectionals as the team most likely to down the so far undefeated Titans.

In other Friday night action, Greece Arcadia downed West Irondequoit 3-1, Rush-Henrietta held off Churchville-Chili 1-0, Brighton topped Eastridge 2-1, Fairport rolled on Gates-Chili 5-1 and Jared Toth tallied 4 goals in an 8-0 romp over a Greece Odyssey team that looked very tame despite their 7-4 record.

As the season winds down and sectionals approach, it's starting to come to do or die for many of the fringe teams. Let's hope the teams can stay healthy and all the real stories are played out on the field down the stretch. Will a surprise team step up for crunch time, or will powerhouses such as Thomas and Brockport steal the show? Let's hear your take on where the teams stand.

Rhinos Learn of Individual Honors

After staying within 1 goal in Charleston to secure their spot in the USL-1 semifinals, the Rhinos have now learned that two of their players have also been named Second Team All League. The fiesty and trustworthy defender Scott Palguta was one of four defenders named to the Second Team and crowd favorite Johnny Menyongar was named as a midfielder after playing in all 30 of the team's games and tallying 6 goals and 5 assists.

Now we must wait and see what Scott, Johnny and the rest of the Rhinos have in store for the semifinal round Friday night!

High School Updates

After watching the Brockport-Spencerport matchup in the rain last night I decided it was time to post an update on the local high school scene.

Last night in Brockport, I watched a strong looking Brockport team jump out to an early advantage over Spencerport with a nice mix of short passing and long balls opening up the game and leading to a nice individual effort opened the scoring. Spencerport would pressure late in the first half, but the last pass in the final third was lacking. Brockport goals were scored by Christian Zale, DJ Barnhart and Andrew McGinnis while Shane Dobles scored the loan Spencerport goal in the 3-1 game.

Also in action Tuesday were Webster Thomas and Webster Schroeder, with Thomas emphatically claiming bragging rights in a 8-1 thrashing.

These results left Brockport and Webster Thomas to remain ahead of the pack in Monroe County, as Brockport stands at 11-1-0 while Webster Thomas is the only undefeated team at 9-0-1. Fairport sits a small margin back at 8-1-2 overall.

I'll be back after the weekend to check in with sectional standings and comment on each team's shot at glory for 2008.