CENTRAL NEW YORK – Though it was only April 4, the girls lacrosse game between Cazenovia and Chittenango last Monday night had all the tension and excitement of a late-May post-season duel.
And it took until the final horn before the Lakers were able to escape with a 9-8 victory over the Bears, who this season is combining its team with some athletes from Bishop Grimes.
Cazenovia had split its first two games, beating LaFayette 17-5 after falling to Central Square 10-5, while Chittenango had outscored Union-Endicott 18-13 and edged Carthage 6-5.
A strong first half put the Lakers in front 6-3, but its offense cooled off in the second half, giving the Bears ample time to try and catch up.
Moving within one in the late going, Chittenango still had a chance to force overtime, but amid a scramble in front of Cazenovia’s net, Charlie Prior picked up a ground ball (her fifth of the game) and cleared it out to Mason DeAngelis, allowing the Lakers to run out the remaining clock.
Balanced on offense, Cazenovia got two goals apiece from Julia Reff, Maren Smith, Riley Schug and Katie Rajkowski. Reff added two assists, with Smith and Schug getting single assists as DeAngelis got a goal and two assists.
On the Bears’ side, Brooke Walters and Cara Kielbasa both netted two goals. Ashley O’Hara, Tomi Newkirk, Skyler Brown and Alazayah Smith each had one goal. Abby Penfield had eight saves, one more than Cazenovia counterpart Mackenzie Halladay.
Before all this, Cazenovia had struggled to find offense in its first game against Central Square, held to one goal in the first half. Only Smith scored twice, with Rajkowski, Knapp and Megan Kuhn netting single goals.
It was quite different against LaFayette, the Lakers jumping out to a big early advantage and then putting in 11 goals against the Lancers in the second half.
Knapp (six goals) and DeAngelis (five goals, one assist) each set career marks, helped by Kuhn and Schug, who each had two goals and one assist. Reff and Prior both finished with one goal and one assist. Sammy Sparks added two assists.
In that March 31 game against Union-Endicott, Chittenango was led by Newkirk, who had six goals and one assist, and Kielbasa, who scored five times while adding an assist.
O’Hara was right with them, notching three goals and four assists as Caitlin Sgambellone netted two goals and two assists. Walters had two goals and one assist.
To edge Carthage two days later, the Bears leaned on its defense, giving up just one goal in the second half after inching in front 5-4 going into halftime.
Newkirk, with three goals, and Skyler Brown, with two goals, accounted for most of the offense. Walters had the other goal as O’Hara, aside from her five assists, matched Kielbasa picking up five ground balls.
Then, after the loss to Cazenovia, Chittenango recovered on Thursday to beat LaFayette 11-6, with Newkirk and Kielbasa each netting four goals as O’Hara picked up three assists. Sgambellone scored twice and Smith had one goal as the Bears improved to 3-1.
By contrast, Cazenovia got overwhelmed Thursday in an 18-1 defeat to Homer, the only goal coming from Prior as the Trojans, who improved to 3-0, saw Maria Partis get five goals and Kacey Ross accumulate four goals and four assists.
