Friday, Sept. 14, 2018: Liverpool, Tappan Zee pull boys soccer upsets

   Leading off today: Ujjwal Chhetri's goal in the 11th minute held up as Liverpool edged Baldwinsville 1-0 on Thursday in a clash of state-ranked boys soccer teams from Section 3.

   Baldwinsville, which hadn't surrendered a goal in its 6-0 start, is ranked fourth and Liverpool 15th in Class AA this week by the New York State Sportswriters Association. (Full rankings here.)

   The game was a rematch of last year's sectional semifinal, won 2-0 by Baldwinsville.

   Ben White made six saves while posting the shutout.

   "The atmosphere was almost playoff-like. The guys were really excited about it," Liverpool coach Doug Nunn said. "Whenever we play B'ville, it's always a good game. Both teams play exceptional soccer and it's fun to coach and fun to watch."

   More boys soccer: Ciaran Shalvey scored twice on feeds from Jorge Umana as Tappan Zee earned a 2-0 victory over Yorktown in Class A action between state-ranked teams from Section 1.

   Yorktown, which played a man short for the final 18 minutes, is ranked third and Tappan Zee 18th by the NYSSWA.

   Christian Florencia made nine saves for Tappan Zee.

   "I know this doesn't count toward our league, but it makes the rankings higher and makes us look more dangerous beating the No. 3 team in the state," Umana said. "It's a great opportunity to play against higher-level teams like this."

   League streak ended: South Glens Falls snapped Scotia-Glenville's four-year Foothills Council unbeaten streak with a 3-2 girls soccer victory.

   Zoe Lanfear scored with six minutes left in the second overtime, ending Scotia-Glenville's 51-0-1 skein in league contests dating to the 2014 season. South Glens Falls improved to 5-0 for the season heading into Tuesday's clash with Queensbury, also 5-0.

   "This was a big win," coach Stephen Philo said, "but it's not going to mean anything if we can't follow it up on Tuesday."

   Aly Fish's goal for South Glens Falls with 11 minutes left in regulation forced overtime.

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   More girls soccer: Calista Heister became Olean's career leader in goals on Wednesday.

   Heister scored three goals in the first eight minutes and five overall in a 13-0 victory over Dunkirk, giving her 129 for her career. The fifth-year varsity player broke the school mark held by 1998 graduate Julie Smith.

   Forfeit follow-up: Josh Thomson at The Journal News apparently got a lot of the same emails that I received early this week. In the aftermath of New Rochelle having to forfeit a Week 1 football victory, more than a few people wondered if the penalty was overkill.

   The question probably isn't all that unreasonable given the fact that no one doubts that the use of an ineligible player

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late in a 41-0 win over Yonkers Brave was inadvertent and did not give New Ro an unfair advantage that affected the outcome of the game.

   Nevertheless, the penalty was fair. Under New York State Public High School Athletic Association rules, it was the only appropriate remedy to the situation.

   Wrote Thomson: "There are no exceptions, no sliding scale that attempts to solve an impossible calculation of determining how much impact an illegal player had on the game in question.

   "Imagine that? Imagine school, section or state officials being forced to consider if a team in violation would have won or lost without that player or players on the field or court? It's just not feasible."

   At the moment, there are no dire ramifications for New Ro. The Huguenots are enormous- ly talented and certainly headed for a spot in the Section 1 Class AA playoffs. Where it gets dicey is if they lose another game along the line. With 17 teams vying for eight playoff sports, that second loss could cost the Huguenots the home field in a playoff game.

   Imagine that: The No. 1 girls lacrosse prospect in the country has decom- mitted from Syracuse University. Florida Lacrosse News reported that Caitlyn Wurzburger of Delray Beach, Fla., American Heritage has reopened her recruitment.

   She is the daughter of Rob Wurzburger, a former West Genesee boys lacrosse great and piled up 105 goals and 116 assists last season.

   Wurzburger is just beginning her junior year in high school. She made her non-binding commitment to the Orange as an eighth-grader.

   Imagine that. A teen changed her mind about something somewhere between eighth and 11th grades. Who could have ever seen that coming?