Sherburne-Earlville’s Gavin Zbicki defends and looks to make the next pass for his team while a Tully defender is on his back. The Marauders fell to the Black Knights by a final of 2-1 in the first round of the Section III Class C Boys Soccer tournament. S-E ends their season with a final record of 7-9-1. (Megan Rodriguez Photo)

OV handed first round loss by Cobras

SHERBURNE – In an evenly matched game that saw both the host Sherburne-Earlville Marauders and the visiting Tully Black Knights each create numerous scoring opportunities, it was the Black Knights who broke the 1-1 tie with seven minutes remaining in the game to pull out the Section III Class C win Wednesday afternoon.

Tully had the opportunities early in the match, controlling the possession early while the Marauders tried to shake off the slow start. One shot attempt by a Black Knight looked as if it was going to slide under the crossbar and into the goal but a S-E defender headed the ball out of harm’s way to preserve the nil-nil score.

However, midway through the first half, Tully’s Ian Byrne put his team ahead with an outside-inside move that created space for his shot at the top of the 18. As he ripped off the shot attempt, S-E keeper John Oley made a play on the ball but it took a weird bounce, it went through Oley’s legs and into the goal.

The Marauders woke up and both teams went back-and-forth with chances as the ball stayed around the half field mark for the remainder of the first half. The same continued through most of the second half as Sherburne-Earlville’s chances slowly dwindled away.

With 12 minutes left to play in the game, the Marauders Gabe Irwin hustled and created a defensive mistake by Tully, allowing him to win back the ball.

The senior forward proceeded to use his speed to get by the defender and turned the corner to take on Tully goal keeper Nathan Zook, where his near post shot attempt found the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1.

Minutes later, a counter attack by Tully started by Byrne’s pass that split the Marauders’ defense at the top of the 18 and saw teammate Ethan Walowsky one time his shot past S-E’s Oley for the eventual game winner.

“We had a great season, and in many ways exceeded expectations,” said Marauders’ head coach Michael Rodriguez. “We managed a winning record in league play, and certain individuals improved and contributed beyond what I expected.

“This was a great group of guys to coach, and I am the better man for it. I pray that my team are better for the experience that they gained on the soccer pitch and in practice as Marauders.”

Sherburne-Earlville ends the season with a final record of 7-9-1 overall and 6-4 in the Center State Conference. Tully moves on to face Westmoreland/Oriskany on Friday.

Tully 2,

Sherburne-Earlville 1

T 1 1 – 2

S-E 0 1 – 1

Goals-Assists: (T) Ian Byrne 1-1, Ethan Walowsky 1-0; (S-E) Gabe Irwin 1-0.

Shots-Corners: (T) 11-5; (S-E) 12-4.