It’s long been safe to consider the Cazenovia field hockey team a dynasty, one that is impervious to the inevitable personnel changes any high school team must face through the years.
The mark now stands at seven consecutive Section III championships for the Lakers, with back-to-back state Class C titles in 2010 and ’11 thrown in for good measure, and there’s little reason to think that 2013 might prove any different.
True, head coach Lorranie Scheftic has just five seniors on her roster. And the Lakers saw yet another talented senior class, including Emily Willard, Rachel Nourse, Maggie Carpenter, Jessy SIlfer, Nicole Chiarello, Lauren Devine and Maggie Namy, depart after it lost to eventual state champion Greene in last November’s regional playoffs, the end of a 40-game win streak.
But Cazenovia still has plenty of talent and firepower on hand, something that Cortland found out about, first-hand, in Friday’s season opener as the Lakers, paced by Rachel McLaughlin, pummeled the Purple Tigers 5-1 at Burton Street Elementary School.
McLaughlin was Cazenovia’s top goal-scorer in 2012. She seems well on her way to leading the Lakers again, starting with a goal at the 10-minute mark that sparked her side to a 3-0 halftime lead as Sarah Willard and Becca Wheeler also converted.
Then, early in the second half, McLaughlin found the net for a second time, and her goal midway through the half completed the hat trick before Cortland’s Erin Brown got a late tally. All told, Cazenovia took 28 shots to the Purple Tigers’ five.
Cazenovia takes its first road trip of the season on Wednesday, to Homer, and is back at Burton Street on Friday to host Cato-Meridian.
