The score pretty much indicated exactly how close Thursday's Delaware League boys soccer game at South Kortright was.
Not very.
Damon Gardner had two goals and Charlie Darling made two saves for the Rams, who clinched their third straight Mountain Division title with a 7-0 thumping of Roxbury.
"I guess it was just our night," said SK coach Bob VanValkenburgh, whose state-ranked team improved to 14-2-1 and 8-2 in the league finale for both teams. "I never expected (a 7-0 win). I think it was our day and we took advantage of our opportunities, but I didn't expect this."
Ryan Dorosky and Eric Burns each contributed a goal and an assist for the two-time defending DL champion Rams, who advanced to the Oct. 18 crossover against Upper Division champion Margaretville (14-3, 9-1) at the National Soccer Hall of Fame. The Blue Devils closed their DL schedule Thursday with a 3-0 win over visiting Stamford.
VanValkenburgh said a time has not been set for the final, which will be a rematch of the 2007 league championship. SK beat Margaretville, 1-0, in last season's crossover. The Rams also won the 2006 DL crown with a 1-0 defeat of Davenport.
On Thursday, Kyle Hotaling scored unassisted eight minutes in off one of the Rams' six corner-kick opportunities.
Trevor Holdridge then started a three-goal spurt in a span of 5:41, scoring unassisted for a 2-0 lead with 11:11 left in the opening half. Dorosky assisted Burns 2:03 later, and Gardner capped the first-half scoring on an unassisted goal with 5:30 to go before halftime.
Gardner, Dorosky and Joe Kaufman scored in the second half for SK, which outshot Roxbury, 16-5.
VanValkenburgh said Tanner Metzko keyed a defense that helped Darling to his 11th shutout this season by closely marking Roxbury leading scorer Ryan Skipper (23 goals, three assists).
SK is 3-0 since an 0-2-1 skid marked by a scoreless tie against Cooperstown and one-goal losses to Downsville and Margaretville. Since then, the Rams have outscored their opponents (Davenport, Windham and Roxbury), 14-0. SK also matched its largest margin of victory this season as it defeated Schenevus, 7-0, in a Sept. 4 non-leaguer.
The Rams snapped a three-game winning streak for the Rockets (10-5, 6-4), who entered the game with a shot at the Mountain Division title but suffered their worst loss of the season. Had Roxbury defeated SK, the two teams would have tied in league play, but the Rockets would have advanced to the crossover via the head-to-head tiebreaker.
SK and Margaretville each beat Roxbury by four goals earlier this fall; the Rams won, 5-1, in the second round of the Stamford Mayor's Cup, and the Blue Devils won, 4-0, in their regular-season meeting with the Rockets.
SK and Margaretville are off until the crossover final.
"It's good for our confidence, but everything starts fresh from here on out," VanValkenburgh said. "We've played Margaretville a lot of times in this game, so it will be good soccer."
SK 7, Roxbury 0
Roxbury0 0 _ 0
South Kortright4 3 _ 7
Roxbury (6-4 DL): None.
South Kortright (14-2-1, 8-2): Damon Gardner 2-0, Ryan Dorosky 1-1, Eric Burns 1-1, Trevor Holdridge 1-0, Kyle Hotaling 1-0, Joe Kaufman 1-0.
Shots-corner kicks: R 5-2; S 16-6.
Goalies: Garrett Hall (R) 9; Charlie Darling (S) 2.
Margaretville 3, Stamford 0
Cody Fronckowiak had two goals and Marcus Moore scored once as host Margaretville won in the Delaware League.
Brian Faulkner made seven saves to earn the shutout for the Blue Devils.
Margaretville 3, Stamford 0
Stamford0 0 _ 0
Margaretville2 1 _ 3
Stamford: None.
Margaretville (14-3, 9-1): Cody Fronckowiak 2-0, Marcus Moore 1-0, Greg Lehn 0-2, Josh Smith 0-1.
Shots-corner kicks: S 7-1; M 9-6.
Goalies: Mike Gaddis (S) 5, Tim Townsend (S) 1; Brian Faulkner (M) 7.
Jefferson 4, Gilboa 2
Jacob Pasa had three goals as Jefferson earned a Delaware League victory on the road.
Gabe Miller also scored for the J-Hawks, who had a 20-10 advantage in shots.
Lucas Vogiatzis and Stephen Voorhees scored for Gilboa (1-17, 0-10), which closed its season.
Jefferson 4, Gilboa 2
Jefferson2 2 _ 4
Gilboa1 1 _ 2
Jefferson: Gabe Miller 1-0, Tyler Dibble 0-1, Ben Sharib 0-1, Taylor Schulte 0-1, Jacob Pasa 3-0.
Gilboa (1-17, 0-10): Lucas Vogiatzis 1-0, Stephen Voorhees 1-0, Scott Haskin 0-1, Derek Briggs 0-1.
Shots-corner kicks: J 20-6; G 10-5.
Goalies: John Cammer (J) 4; Joe Cooper (G) 7, Justin Mudge (G) 7.
Delhi 8, Sidney 0
Ryan Taylor scored three times as unbeaten Delhi cruised in a Midstate Athletic Conference road game.
Avery Meehan contributed two goals and three assists, and Eddie Reed had two goals and two assists for the state-ranked Bulldogs (13-0), who received three saves from Pat Cobane for the shutout.
Sidney (6-10, 6-8) visits Bainbridge-Guilford on Saturday.
Delhi 8, Sidney 0
Delhi4 4 _ 8
Sidney0 0 _ 0
Delhi (13-0): Ryan Taylor 3-0, Avery Meehan 2-3, Eddie Reed 2-2, Nick Meehan 1-2, Troy Tucker 0-1.
Sidney (6-10, 6-8): None.
Shots-corner kicks: D 25-4; S 4-0.
Goalies: Pat Cobane (D) 3; Ian Ostrander (S) 15.
UV 1, Unatego 0
Fred Hutch scored off an assist from Michael Burchill with 7:53 remaining as visiting Unadilla Valley won in the MAC.
Thomas Wallace made seven saves to earn the shutout for the Storm.
Padriac Alvin made 12 saves for Unatego (2-15), which visits Delhi on Wednesday.
UV 1, Unatego 0
UV0 1 _ 1
Unatego0 0 _ 0
UV: Fred Hutch 1-0, Michael Burchill 0-1.
Unatego (2-15): None.
Shots-corner kicks: UV 14-5; Un 14-3.
Goalies: Thomas Wallace (UV) 7; Padriac Alvin (Una) 12.
Walton 4, Afton 0
Trent Wood had two goals as visiting Walton won in the MAC.
Tyler Magnis and Dale Morley each contributed goals for the Warriors. Robertny LeRouge had two assists.
Afton (1-16) finishes the season at home against Oxford on Wednesday.
Walton 4, Afton 0
Walton2 2 _ 4
Afton0 0 _ 0
Walton: Trent Wood 2-0, Robertny LeRouge 0-2, Tyler Magnis 1-0, Dale Morley 1-0.
Afton (1-16): None.
Shots-corner kicks: W 12-6; A 2-0.
Goalies: Brian Schuppel (W) 1; Jacob Arnold (A) 8.
Greene 4, B-G 0
Mark Day, Dave Fors, Ryan Ludwig and Alex Driscoll scored to lead visiting Greene to a MAC win.
Curtis Richards earned the shutout with two saves for the Trojans, who held advantages of 18-4 in shots and 13-1 in corner kicks.
Bainbridge-Guilford hosts Sidney at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Greene 4, B-G 0
Greene2 2 _ 4
Bainbridge-Guilford0 0 _ 0
Greene: Mark Day 1-0, Dave Fors 1-0, Ryan Ludwig 1-0, Alex Driscoll 1-0, Eli Marks 0-1.
Bainbridge-Guilford (7-9-1, 6-8-1): None.
Shots-corner kicks: G 18-13; B 4-1.
Goalies: Curtis Richards (G) 2; Jeremy Gray (B) 12.
Cooperstown 3, SV 2
Jake Chase scored from about six yards with 6:35 to go in the first 10-minute, sudden-victory overtime to help the visiting Redskins win in the Center State Conference.
Kyle Liner crossed from the left to Chase, who scored near the back post.
Cooperstown (11-3-1, 7-2), which had a 33-7 advantage in shots, trailed, 2-0, with 23 minutes to play.
"We did a complete overhaul of the lineup, then proceeded to score three goals in 26 minutes," Cooperstown coach Frank Miosek said. "It was a very fulfilling win because we were down, 2-0. We had a lot of shots, but they were kind of harmless shots.
"To be fair, my kids are very tired and sore from playing so many games in the last three weeks," continued Miosek, who added the Redskins had played three games a week in that span. "We're kind of physically beat up. We're taking the next four days off. They are exhausted. I'm very content to get this win and take a few days off and come back refreshed a bit."
Kevin Huggins and Ryo Shimada also scored for Cooperstown, which hosts Canastota on Tuesday.
Cooperstown 3, SV 2
Cooperstown0 2 1 _ 3
Sauquoit Valley1 1 0 _ 2
Cooperstown (11-3-1, 7-2): Kevin Huggins 1-0, Ryo Shimada 1-0, Jake Chase 1-1, Brandon Lane 0-1, Kyle Hohensee 0-1, Kyle Liner 0-1.
Sauquoit Valley (6-7-1, 4-4-1): Dave Stuhlman 2-0.
Shots-corner kicks: C 33-7; S 5-0.
Goalies: Mack Curran (C) 2; Mack Foster (S) 8.
Milford 2, Worcester 0
Brandon Haller scored two unassisted goals and Trevor Kosturock made three saves for Milford in a Tri-Valley League shutout at home.
Haller beat the Worcester defense with 25:50 left in the opening half to give the Wildcats (4-10-2, 4-5-1) a 1-0 lead. Haller also scored a rebound goal off his own miss midway through the second half.
Milford is at Stamford for a non-league game Monday.
Milford 2, Worcester 0
Worcester0 0 _ 0
Milford1 1 _ 2
Worcester: None.
Milford (4-10-2, 4-5-1): Brandon Haller 2-0.
Shots-corner kicks: W 3-2; M 10-3.
Goalies: Jason McHargue (W) 8; Trevor Kosturock (M) 3.
