The Evening Sun on S-E Soccer

The Evening Sun won't leave the link up for long, but while it lasts, it's here. Marauders take top seed into Section III playoffs By Patrick Newell Sun Sports Editor

Perhaps the defining moments of Sherburne-Earlville’s remarkable soccer season occurred last week in back-to-back comeback wins over Frankfort-Schuyler and Mt. Markham. F-S was the Division One boys’ soccer champion in the Center State Conference and hosting the Marauders, who had clinched the Division Two title. Unofficially, it was a showdown for the overall league championship. The Marauders trailed early, but regrouped with a barrage of goals in the second half. Two days later, nemesis Mt. Markham, last year’s sectional runner-up in the Section III class tournament, held a 1-0 lead entering the final five minutes of the game. Miraculously, S-E not only tied the game, but scored the winner with just six ticks left on the clock. The victory ended a near-perfect regular season in which the Marauders went 17-0-1. Laurels followed earlier this week when, they garnered the section’s highest Class B honor as the number one seeded team and an automatic bye into the second round of the playoffs. “It was exciting for us to get number one seed, especially over Clinton, who is the number one ranked team in the state (S-E is ranked 12th),” said junior Travis Tomaselli, who scored the winning goal against Mt. Markham, and established a team single-season scoring mark with 24 goals. Guiding the Marauders is Mike Rodriguez, who was handed the reins as head coach seven years ago. Until this season, his most satisfying moments came with Matt Lake and Joe Marso leading the offensive attack a few years ago. That club was as talented a team as the Marauders have ever had, but even they were outshined by this S-E club that adheres to the terms of unity and cohesiveness. Tomaselli, when asked to identify the team’s strength on the field, pointed to every aspect - from the goalkeeper and defense on up through the midfield and forward line - as a strength. And, he noted a strong bench that fills in with little drop-off in play. As for creating a sense of team unity, it was the Lake and Marso group that collectively dyed its hair blonde before the season opener. That tradition has continued each season since, and even Rodriguez joined the fray earlier this month. “Coach Rodriguez made a deal with us that he would dye his hair blonde after we won our first league championship,” Tomaselli said of his previously dark-haired coach. “He was hesitant at first, but he kept his word. He is all about the team unity and carrying on the tradition established by the players before us.” The Marauders’ journey to the top of the class seems a bit unlikely considering its five-win season a year ago. It took six games before the Marauders picked up a win, but a victory over Mt. Markham late in the season gave evidence of the club’s potential. “When I look back, I think the Mt. Markham game was the turning point,” Rodriguez said. “Just the way we competed against them and possessed the ball. Someone who was at that game said that we were probably the best four-win team he had ever seen. We certainly had shown flashes of what we were capable of doing, it was just a matter of consistency.” Consistent winning came early and often in ‘05. The Marauders swept their own tournament and Hamilton tournament. They also battled back from a two-goal deficit in the second half to force a tie with Oneida. It was that contest in which Rodriguez fully realized this team’s unwillingness to accept defeat and doggedness to compete. “The guys were determined to make something happen in the Oneida game,” Rodriguez said. “We fought hard and the goals weren’t pretty ones...the guys just have a sense of confidence about them. They don’t panic when they are down.” Staked to the number one seed, Tomaselli believes his team indeed merits the position, but needs to prove each game in the playoffs it deserves the ranking. “We know we are a good team, but we also know there are a lot of good teams out there that want to knock us off and give us our first loss,” he said. “We want to prove we’re number one to the end.” The Marauders host their first Class B playoff game Friday against Ilion at 3 p.m.