This century, postseason success has been easy to come by for Lansing boys soccer. Whether it was under Adam Heck or Benji Parkes, there were plenty of IAC, Section IV and state championships to celebrate. That trend has continued under Jake Fusilli over the past five seasons with another league title in hand.
For the third time in four years, the Bobcats are IAC Large School champions after routing Spencer-Van Etten/Candor 6-0 on October 17 at Dryden High School. Most of the damage was done in the opening 40 minutes with the Bobcats pouncing out to a 5-0 lead at halftime. They added another goal after the break to put the cherry on top of an utterly dominant performance.
The game was a microcosm of arguably the Bobcats’ biggest strength: depth. Five different players got on the scoresheet—Deondre Smith (twice), Callan Fagan, Oscar Law, Ryan Hunter, and DeMario Smith. Of the 21 players on the roster, 18 have scored at least once this year. Fusilli knows how invaluable having a plethora of goalscoring threats is heading into sectionals.
“When you get towards this time of year, there’s not one player on the team that you can say, ‘We’re going to try to take him away,’” Fusilli said. “It’s so spread out. It’s having the ability where a team can’t lock in on one player. If someone’s not having their best day, another player can step up and put the ball in the back of the net. ”
Lansing also enters the next stage of the postseason as one of the most in-form in the section. After starting out 2-2, the Bobcats have rattled off 12 straight victories, including impressive performances against rivals Trumansburg and Class A Maine-Endwell.
Their only two defeats came against state-ranked teams in Vestal and Skaneateles. Being thrown into the fire to begin the season has clearly benefitted them in the long run.
“That’s something the last couple of years we’ve struggled with is getting to sectionals and kind of having that confidence to know that we can compete or win those games,” Fusilli said. “Playing those tough competitions at the beginning of the year I think was good for us to translate throughout the season so far.”
In terms of where the Bobcats have grown the most since that 2-2, Fusilli believes it comes down to the combination play and finishing between the midfielders and their forwards.
“I think towards the beginning of the year we were struggling a little bit to find the back of the net,” Fusilli said. “I think our runs were pretty direct. Now after working on it for a little bit and the boys in practice working really hard on it, the ability that they’re showing to have different combinations and different diagonal runs or little flicks for our wingers running in behind is probably the biggest improvement I’d say from the start.”
Another area of improvement has been their execution off a unique set piece. For the past four years, they’ve utilized the long throw-in tactic thanks to senior Jackson Tarbert’s innate ability to launch the ball deep into the box. That’s exactly how they scored two of their five goals in the IAC championship, and they’re hoping that continues to be a weapon in sectionals.
“Anything from the 20-yard line in is giving us something going into the box,” Fusilli said. “One thing coming into this year is actually finishing those opportunities. In previous years we had trouble doing, and we do have a good amount of goals coming off those throw-ins. It’s something special and obviously not a lot of teams have that ability. It definitely gives us an edge, for sure.”
The Bobcats boast a stout defense that has perfectly complemented their offensive firepower. They’ve kept 11 shutouts while only conceding five goals, only one of which was against an IAC opponent (Trumansburg). Along with the back four of Tarbert, senior Daniel Stallone, senior Thomas Hibbard and sophomore Justin Redmond, senior Tyler Smith has been a reliable goalkeeper, putting up an astounding .932 save percentage during the regular season.
“Tyler’s been doing a fabulous job back there,” Fusilli said. “That’s something I’m very proud of him for because he took on that goalie role last year. He’s been putting in a lot of work in the offseason. You can definitely see it. His confidence has improved tremendously.”
Lansing will have a rematch to begin their sectional run. For the second straight season, they will host Chenango Valley in the Class B quarterfinals on October 24. Last year’s meeting ended in heartbreak for the Bobcats with a 5-0 loss. They’re hoping to write a different story this time around to make a deeper run in pursuit of their first Section IV title since 2019.
“I know the talent that these kids have,” Fusilli said. “They work extremely hard. But when it comes to that sectional time, we just need to make sure we’re mentally there and mentally ready because if we can do that, I don’t see any reason why we can’t compete with any team that we play.”
