Girls Soccer: Cincinnatus downs Madison in CCL bout

Madison, N.Y. – Madison faced a tall task on Tuesday in Central Counties League leader Cincinnatus.

Undefeated and ranked as the No. 8 team in the state, according to the New York State Sportswriters Association, Cincinattus carried a slim, 1-0 lead into the halftime intermission over Herb Bingel’s Blue Devils.

Two second half goals, one via a penalty kick that drew the ire of Blue Devil fans and the other a counterattack when Madison was in desperation mode with everyone forward, ensured there would not be an upset as Cincinnatus won 3-0.

The visitors were paced by a pair of scores from Delaney Rutan, Cincinattus’ senior forward who joined the 100-goal club earlier this month, in the win. Montana Wolf added a goal for the Lions in the victory.

“They’re a good team. The first goal they had was an excellent goal….After that, I thought we played them pretty solid all the way through,” Madison coach Herb Bingel said. “I was happy with the way we played. They are a tough team, Top 10 in the state. We had good opportunities. We gave them fits, I thought. I thought we really played them straight up for a long time.”

Cincinnatus did not waste any time grabbing an early lead. Wolf redirected a cross from Deslinn Rutan past Blue Devil keeper Kayla Usborne in the sixth minute of play for a 1-0 edge.

Madison junior Miah Izdi claimed Madison’s first shot attempt of the evening, winning a 50-50 ball near the top of the Cincinnatus 18-yard line and volleying a shot over the crossbar.

The hosts had another scoring opportunity a few minutes later in the 15th minute when they were awarded a direct kick from roughly 25 yards out. Four Blue Devils gathered around the ball on the set piece, three of them breaking toward the net on junior Heidi Lewis’ shot on goal, but Cincinnatus keeper Kara Steacy was not fooled and corralled the shot.

As the first half wound down, Cincinnatus looked like it might double its lead, but Usborne came up with a nice save to keep the Lions’ lead 1-0 heading into the intermission.

Two minutes into the second half, Madison surrendered a penalty shot on a slide tackle near the edge of the box. The Blue Devil sideline yelled that the tackle was all ball, but Cincinnatus was awarded the penalty kick and Delaney Rutan coolly put away the shot for a 2-0 Lion lead.

Madison had its opportunities in the second half. Jordan Mayne fed Kierston Abrams on a through ball that resulted in a hard shot into the left side of the net in the 53rd minute. Five minutes later, Mayne swung a ball from her wing position to the far side of the Cincinnatus 18-yard box, but nobody was home on the other end.

The Blue Devils’ best scoring oportunity came in the 68th minute when Abrams collided with Steacy while trying for the ball inside the Cincinnatus 18-yard box. Both players went sprawling, and Blue Devil Lyncoln Belden sent a shot toward the mouth of the goal, but Cincinnatus’ Mckayla Maroney got in front of the shot and cleared to thwart the Madison opportunity.

Cincinnatus added its final score in the 77th minute on a counter attack. With Madison pushed forward on a desperation corner attempt, two passes freed Delaney Rutan, who maneuvered through the Blue Devil backline for a shot and score.

Despite the defeat, Bingel was encouraged by his side’s effort.

“We are coming of age. We are starting to get confidence. We are starting to get rolling. The rest of the season is really wide open for us to make some noise. We are playing a better possession game. Our midfield is becoming more comfortable,” Bingel said. “Going forward I think we can make some noise, make a run into sectional play, and really sneak up on teams that will probably underestimate us and go far in sectionals. That is our goal.”

For the Blue Devils to make a deep run, they will look to a pair of leaders on defense with the season at the midway point.

“Heidi [Lewis] is a smart player. She is a solid defender. I could play her anywhere on the field, she’d be a good player Her and Kayla [Usborne], those two kids in the back, they are just anchors. Defensively, we’d be lost without those two back there. Smart, good, athletic. They just want to win.”

Madison falls to 4-6 on the season with the defeat and will look to bounce back against DeRuyter on Thursday.

Cincinnatus improves to 9-0 on the season.