ONEONTA _ Meet the Oneonta High boys soccer team.
No, not the one that failed to score while starting the season 0-3-1.
Instead, introductions are needed for the Yellowjackets squad that showed up on a drizzly Tuesday night at Lloyd F. Baker Field, the seemingly confident bunch that defeated Owego, 3-1, in a Southern Tier Athletic Conference game.
This aggressive group won 50-50 balls in the air, received a pair of goals from Kyle McCue off direct kicks from about 20 yards _ both set up by fouls drawn by Jacob Joseph after penetrating deep into Owego territory _ and matched the physical play of a bigger opponent.
"We always get better, don't we?" said OHS coach Alex Brannan, whose 8-4-1 team has strung together seven straight victories and beat an Indians team it played to a 0-0 tie in the season opener for both. "The kids are starting to believe in the system."
Oneonta did all of its scoring in a 10-minute, 3-second span that bridged the first and second halves.
The first came 29 seconds before halftime and was set up by Joseph, who got no credit for an assist but certainly deserved one.
Joseph, an undersized and speedy midfielder, found space in the middle of the field before cutting to his left.
While deftly protecting the ball on his left foot and shielding a defender with his body, Joseph absorbed a hit and went down, drawing a whistle just outside the left corner of the penalty box.
McCue took the direct kick. Earlier, he'd sent a ball to the far post that went beyond the end line. This time, with Brannan yelling from the sideline for his team to make a run to the far post, McCue drove a low kick that skipped once off the wet grass about 5 yards from the goal and just evaded diving Owego goalie Taylor Spadine before sneaking inside the near post.
"It's fantastic," McCue said of the victory. "Owego is a team we always look (to beat), and we got it."
Indians coach Jason Luke said of McCue's first goal: "That was a huge momentum swing to score just before the half."
A nearly identical scenario played out 2:10 into the second half.
Again, the stop-and-start moves of Joseph drew the contact of an Indians defender and sent Joseph to the turf, this time in the center of the field and 21 yards out.
"He gets fouled all the time," McCue said of Joseph. "He has great feet and it's tough to stay with him."
And once again, McCue finished, this time finding a seam on the right side on a hard, low shot that easily beat Spadine to make it 2-0.
"(Our play) is so much different (than the beginning of the season)," said McCue, who has five goals this season. "Plus, we always get fired up to play under the lights. We only get to do it a couple times a season and everyone looks forward to it."
The Yellowjackets made it 3-0 with 31:26 left on the most eye-pleasing play of the night as Joseph and Eric Deemer worked a give-and-go to perfection.
Joseph had possession at the top of the box before sending a short pass to Deemer 15 yards out on the right wing. Deemer then sent a soft pass tricking toward the goal. Joseph continued running after his pass and just beat Spadine to the ball 8 yards out. Joseph's initial shot glanced off the sprawling Spadine and continued toward the goal. Joseph followed the shot and scored into an open net from a yard out for his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
"That was a great 1-2 on the top of the box," said Brannan, whose team is 7-3-1 in STAC.
Owego (7-3-1, 6-3-1) avoided a shutout with 24:02 left, when Michael Spadine beat charging OHS goalie Chris Hayen to a ball on the right wing and scored inside the far post. But Spadine, one of Owego's top offensive players, didn't have much in the way of opportunities other than his goal as he was marked closely by Patrick DeAndrea for most of the game.
Hayen, a standout senior goalie, made two difficult saves in the first half to keep it 0-0. He denied Harold Bean in the box with a diving save nine minutes into play. Another diving effort by Hayen with 12 minutes left in the half thwarted a near-post shot by Camden Bushen from the left side.
The Yellowjackets will attempt to avenge to a 1-0 loss to Maine-Endwell at 7 p.m. Thursday in their Senior Appreciation Game at Lloyd Baker Field.
"We played them tough at their place," said Brannan, whose team's season ended last year with a 1-0 overtime loss to the Spartans in a sectional quarterfinal.
Oneonta 3, Owego 1
Owego0 1 _ 1
Oneonta1 2 _ 3
Owego (7-3-1, 6-3-1): Michael Spadine 1-0.
Oneonta (8-4-1, 7-3-1): Kyle McCue 2-0, Jacob Joseph 1-0, Eric Deemer 0-1.
Shots-corner kicks: Ow 8-6; On 10-5.
Goalies: Taylor Spadine (Ow) 1; Chris Hayen (On) 4.
___
Rob Centorani can be reached at rcentorani@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 209.
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