Perhaps the best way to get a maximum effort out of the Cazenovia girls soccer team is to put them behind early.
Stung by an early goal in Thursday night’s game against Skaneateles at the Sean Googin Sports Complex, Cazenovia was even within minutes and soon took control, eventually prevailing 3-1 to complete a sweep of the 2014 version of the Lakers series.
More than a week had passed since Cazenovia had lost a 2-1 overtime decision to Westhill on Sept. 23. At the time, the Lakers had risen to no. 2 in the state Class B rankings, but the defeat pushed them back to no. 8 in the following’s week’s state poll.
At least Cazenovia arrived at the Skaneateles clash fit and rested. Two nights earlier, a home game against Altmar-Parish-Williamstown had to be abandoned in the first half due to lightning – a break for the Lakers, since it was a 1-1 tie and far from comfortable.
Now Skaneateles arrived, and in the early going it looked like the two Lakers sides would pick up right where they left off Sept. 8, a 3-2 Cazenovia win where all of the goals were scored in the second half.
If the hosts were not focused, then what happened just 65 seconds into the game changed matters. Off a well-timed feed from Ally Pietropaoli, Laurel Parker flicked a shot past Cazenovia goalie Maggie Johnson, and the visitors were up 1-0.
That Cazenovia deficit lasted less than seven minutes. In what turned into a night-long theme, freshman Casey Crawford threaded a pass right between defenders and Audrey Burbidge, catching it in stride, dribbled in and beat Skaneateles goalie Sophie Kush to tie it, 1-1.
From there, the game settled into a general pattern of Cazenovia making consistent pushes with its forwards and applying pressure on the Skaneateles back line. At times, though, the visiting Lakers would find space, too, and offer a counter-attack.
What happened near the end of the first half illustrated both trends. From 20 yards out, Crawford took a hard shot that appeared wide of the target, but glanced off a Skaneateles defender and, before Kush could react, caromed off the left post and into the net, putting Cazenovia ahead for good.
Less than a minute later, Skaneateles nearly tied it again, with a cross from the right side that found Lauren Goodchild, whose hard shot was on target – but Johnson, acting on pure instinct, deflected it over the net, keeping it 2-1 for her side going to the break.
As the second half wore on, the Skaneateles attacks grew less frequent. Though Johnson made 10 saves, she felt far less heat than earlier in the game, and Cazenovia remained consistent in its attack.
A familiar combination produced the insurance goal in the 52nd minute. Again, Crawford threaded a pass from the side and, again, Burbidge took it, waiting until Kush ran out to meet her before slipping a low, hard shot into the unoccupied net.
