The Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse boys soccer teams' two regular-season matchups were both defensive battles and that was also the case for the first half of Tuesday's Class AAA sectional semifinal.
Liverpool, however, found a way to score in the second half and earn its first trip back to a sectional final since 2019 with a 3-0 victory over the Northstars at Fayetteville-Manlius High School.
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"This has really been a work in progress, to be honest with you," Liverpool coach Paul Bonus said. "We missed out on sectionals two years ago, and as a coaching staff have made it a commitment to work with the guys as much as we can in the offseason and build the program all the way up."
Liverpool (12-0-4) reached Tuesday's semifinal after earning the No. 1 seed and a quarterfinal-round bye. fifth-seeded C-NS upset No. 4 Rome Free Academy, 2-0, in last Thursday's quarterfinal clash.
"I just told them that, 'It's a new season, sectionals are a new season. Everybody is undefeated and we just need to trust in each other,'" Bonus said. "They need to trust in each other. We need to play our soccer and play hard and keep doing the things that we've been doing all year that have made us successful. Whenever you get to sectionals, you're going to get everybody's best game."
Tuesday's semifinal between Liverpool and C-NS began similarly to their first two matchups of the season. Their first regular-season game ended in a 0-0 draw on Sept. 12 and the second ended with Liverpool claiming a 1-0 victory on Oct. 10.
On Tuesday, the first half ended scoreless with both teams having scoring opportunities but neither finding the back of the net.
"It was definitely a defensive battle in the first half for sure," Bonus said. "I really thought ... I knew the game would be really tight. I wasn't sure how we would be after not playing for 10 days. We didn't really start the game out all that well, and I thought that (C-NS) played very, very well. They were well organized."
Liverpool turned things around in the second half with goals by sophomores Dominic Paolini, Connor Lynch and Camden Farrell. Sophomore Albin Buja and senior Antonio Wilson chipped in assists.
"I just think it goes to the type of players that we have and their talent level and what they can do when they trust in each other and they work with each other," Bonus said. "To me, we have a lot of capable goal scorers and it came out in the game tonight."
Sophomore goalkeeper Jacob McQuaters also finished with five saves.
Liverpool will now face the winner of Tuesday's other sectional semifinal between Utica Proctor and Baldwinsville. The championship game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Fulton High School.
