Summer just isn’t for me. I enjoy it for a month or so and then I have enough of drowning in my own sweat. I lived in Florida for 19 years and I left for a reason. Summer is fine up until about the beginnings of August, when it all becomes too hot, too buggy and too much to deal with.
As the sports editor for a local newspaper, summer is just about the only time when there is some uniformity to my schedule. It’s a 9-5, Mon-Fri with nothing at night because few sports are happening. Right about now, I miss the chaos that the school year brings.
With collegiate action three weeks away and high school games exactly a month away (and it being a slow sports news day) I thought what better time than now to look ahead and present a few games I am excited about, and plan to be in attendance at.
Hobart football gets started under the lights, Sept. 6
The yearly rotation the Statesmen have with the Alfred University Saxons is a good one, I think. The programs trade off hosting their season openers. Uniquely, it is on a Friday night under the lights. Neither Friday games nor night games appear on the schedule for the rest of the season.
This year Hobart is the host, and it’ll be the 82nd matchup between the programs all time since they first met on Oct. 1, 1902 (an 11-6 win for the Statesmen). Hobart has won 13 straight matchups and holds a 42-35-4 all-time advantage.
Since reigniting the rivalry in 2021 for the first time since 2007, the Statesmen have put up 35, 36 and 31 points while limiting the Saxons to 3, 6 and 9.
A mix of graduate students and seniors returning to the roster in 2024 could give the Statesmen the leadership they have been missing in the Liberty League for the last two years. While Ithaca, Union, RPI and others have been on the more experienced side of things, Hobart has maintained one of the younger rosters in the league in recent years.
But a full preview of the season ahead will appear in the coming weeks.
For now, why am I excited?
It’s football season. Duh.
2024 Stand on Their Shoulders Invitational — William Smith soccer
For the first time since 2021, William Smith soccer opens its season at home, and with a twist.
The Herons will host Plattsburgh State, Washington and Lee University and TCNJ for a weekend tournament named the Stand on Their Shoulders Invitational.
William Smith opens things up on Friday, Aug. 30 against Plattsburgh State at noon. Washington and Lee vs. TCNJ will follow at 2:30 p.m. and then the Herons will face Washington and Lee the next day at 1 p.m.
For one of Division III’s premiere programs, falling in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2023 in double overtime was short of where they usually end up. A 13-strong senior class walked at graduation this past spring, and though there is no telling at the moment how many will return as grad students with eligibility, the younger Herons will have lots of stepping up to do.
What better way than to host a weekend tournament against top-tier programs to see where they stand as the season gets under way?
Midlakes vs. Lyons girls volleyball, Sept. 16
A non-league matchup between two of the area’s best programs? That’s always a “must see” for me.
A nearly undefeated season for Lyons in 2023 was not to be outdone by Midlakes getting to yet another Section V final and with a Finger Lakes East league title.
The returning centerpiece for Lyons in Jayla Bell will certainly draw the attention of every Midlakes blocker, but the loss of Milleniyah Glanton may leave the Lions’ defense exposed.
The likes of Emma LaBour and Clara Bond will look to expose that weakness but then again, until the two teams take the court for their first practices and games, there isn’t much telling about the new talent each program will bring in.
Either way, fall volleyball matchups provide an indoor break from some of the hot, early outside games of the fall season, and given the success and sectional titles both Midlakes and Lyons have won in recent memory, the Sept. 16 non-league matchup between two league favorites is sure to be a treat.
Mynderse Academy boys soccer vs. Dundee/Bradford, Sept. 13
The Finger Lakes East champs and the No. 1 seed from the 2023 Class B tournament are switching it up this year. The Blue Devils are headed to the FL West, where they will have to dethrone the defending champs in Naples and the BraveScots, who made it to the Class C quarterfinals.
The Blue Devils will host the BraveScots on Friday, Sept. 13 before packing up and heading southwest to play Naples three days later. In the span of those three days, the Blue Devils will find out if they can be contenders in a new league.
Though the talents of Naples and Dundee/Bradford will welcome the challenge of a new contender, they may not be ready for the likes of rising superstar Elijah Doell, who led Mynderse in scoring with 19 goals and 11 assists as a freshman in 2023. Doell finished tied for third in the Finger Lakes with 49 points. He helped the Blue Devils to 12 wins in a row in 2023, including eight straight shutouts.
Dundee/Bradford and Naples both lost their top scorers in Aiden Monell (11 goals, 4 assists) and Matthew Lincoln (34 goals, 6 assists). With Doell entering his sophomore year and the Blue Devils hungry for a second-straight league crown — albeit a different one — the Sept. 13 matchup between the Blue Devils and BraveScots will be both exciting and an indication of who may snag the FL West crown.
Geneva vs. Waterloo football, Sept. 20
I mean, we all knew this one was coming, right? One of the Finger Lakes’ greatest rivalries gets reignited for the first time since Oct. 12, 2018. At Loman Stadium, under the lights and on Homecoming for the Panthers. What could be better than that?
With the Geneva Panthers — and other schools — leaving the Section V federation module and joining the Wayne-Finger Lakes Independent League, the league will have an even greater balance than in 2023. 2024 will be the second year at the helm for each of the programs’ head coaches. Geneva’s scorching start to the 2023 season did sputter out, but the program is still on the rise and looks to be an immediate contender for the league crown.
But if there is any school that wants to spoil a season for Geneva, it’s Waterloo.
The Tigers struggled to get going in 2023, going 1-3 in the first four games, but they finished strong with two straight wins and three wins in their last five.
The Times’ football magazine is due to be published in the coming weeks, so more information and previews will be available then. Just know that even now, there’s no way we won’t be in attendance for this game.
Pete Lambos is the Sports Editor for the Finger Lakes Times. Contact him at (315) 789-3333 ext. 241 or [email protected].
