In order to deal with the lingering winter, the Cazenovia girls lacrosse team had to wait, and then had to move across town, to get its 2013 season underway – but it didn’t faze the Lakers one bit as it won both of its opening tests.

The Lakers, like so many others in the Section III Class C ranks, see a new opportunity thanks to the promotion of two-time champion (and 2011 state champion) CBA to the Class B ranks, and don’t want to waste that opportunity.

First, though, Cazenovia had to wait out the weather, which postponed the team’s March 28 opener at Cortland and nearly did the same to last Tuesday’s scheduled home opener against Clinton.

At least in the latter instance, the turf at nearby Cazenovia college was available, so the Lakers went there and promptly dismantled Clinton in a 13-1 romp.

Given the snow and high winds that put wind chills in the teens, it wasn’t surprising that Cazenovia’s attack took a while to warm up. But a solid defense, anchored by goalie Lauren Devine, kept Clinton off the board, and the Lakers led 5-0 at halftime.

But Kelsey Henderson scored twice early in the second half to make it 7-0, and after the Warriors’ Breanna Karrat broke up the shutout, Cazenovia got clear as Henderson tacked on two more goals, giving her four for the day.

Yet it was Kayla Dorrance serving as the anchor for the Lakers, feeding several different teammates with her timely passes and setting a career mark with eight assists.

Kristie Kleine and Jessie Matt each scored twice, while Dorrance, Grace Milmoe, Madison Gabor, Sarah Willard and Dana Kiselica notched single goals. Kali Cook and Hadley Lucas earned one assist apiece.

Returning to that same Cazenovia College turf on Thursday, the Lakers took on the combined Bishop Ludden/Bishop Grimes team and were shaky at times, but still did enough to defeat the Gaelic Knights 9-5.

It took nearly eight minutes for Cazenovia to get on the board, and it trailed 1-0 thanks to Stephanie Brazell’s goal before Henderson tied it. But it was Matt’s go-ahead goal at the 10:46 mark that opened a decisive run where, in a three-minute span, Henderson and Hadley Lucas found the net to spread the margin to 4-1.

Willard and Kleine tacked on goals that made it 6-1 late in the half, but from there the Lakers cooled down, unable to hang on to the ball or consistently make Ludden/Grimes pay for turnovers.

Still, the game was never in any serious danger, Cazenovia expertly possessing the ball for long periods of time in the latter stages to protect its lead.

Again, Dorrance served as the catalyst, piling up seven assists to give her 15 for the week. Henderson finished with three goals as Matt scored twice and Lucy Shepard notched her first goal of the season.

These games served as a warm-up for a big week of activity. Starting on Monday, the Lakers would take on Marcellus, Skaneateles and Westhill in a five-day span, with only the game against the other Lakers at home as Cazenovia got an up-close look at most of the other pre-season Class C favorites, all in a row.