North boys soccer remains undefeated

Williamsville North's John Piaggione chest bumps the ball during the Spartans' 1-1 tie at Clarence last Friday. North is ranked No. 1 in Western New York large schools. Photo by Joe Eberle Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

After facing three divisional rivals over a course of five days last week, Williamsville North is still undefeated.

The Spartans, ranked first in Western New York, beat Frontier, 1-0, at home on Monday, Sept. 24; won 3-0 at Jamestown last Wednesday; and tied at Clarence, 1-1, last Friday.

Frontier went into a defensive shell as the Spartans controlled possession from the kickoff, said North coach Lee Ferenc. The Spartans dominated Frontier from the beginning whistle to the end of the game.

Sixty-four minutes in, North was finally awarded a goal for all of their hard work. John Piaggione scored on a header from a great outside service by Brian Doherty.

"It was a great team win," said Ferenc. "We didn't miss a beat. It didn't matter who was rotated in. We just kept pushing and pushing and kept Frontier on their heels the whole game."

Piaggione got the scoring started against Jamestown from a tricky back heel pass from Ryan Donaldson at the 20-minute mark. Andre Marinaccio scored a few minutes later with a nice setup by Dan Topolski. Daric Will scored a hard-earned goal as he headed his own shot off the crossbar. Tyler Cominsky earned another shutout to put himself at 7.5 for the season.

Not only was the North-Clarence game a battle of two top-ranked teams in Western New York, but also North entered the game sixth in the state while Clarence entered 18th.

"Both teams had numerous scoring chances and it was an exciting game to be part of," said Ferenc. "The amount of talent on both teams was impressive, to say the least."

Sean Durfee scored about 15 minutes into the game from a wicked shot outside the 18. With about two minutes left in the first half, North gave up a goal on a perfectly executed corner kick.

The second half was constant pressure in both ends. Lucas Barnes, Travis Land, Brian Doherty and Jimmy Nesper kept their top scoring strikers in check, while Matt Campana, Brian Durfee, Pat McCann, Ryan Donaldson and Piaggione kept the midfield going strong.

North (9-0-1, 6-0-1) played at Orchard Park on Tuesday and will host Lancaster on Thursday.