Now the Cazenovia field hockey team is a step closer to winning a Section III championship for the ninth consecutive year.
Having earned the top seed in the seven-team sectional Class C bracket, the Lakers enjoyed a full week of rest and recuperation while everyone else in the field had to go through an opening round game.
Then, when Sunday’s Class C semifinal convened at East Syracuse-Minoa’s Spartan Stadium, Cazenovia greeted no. 4 seed Little Falls with a full dose of its potent attack, especially in a five-goal second half, which led to a 6-0 victory over the Mounties.
Little Falls, who had blanked Clinton 2-0 to reach this round, hoped that the seven-day break made the Lakers a bit rusty, and that the cold, windy wet conditions might equalize matters, too. But those hopes were unrealized.
Cazenovia applied pressure right from the opening whistle. While the Mounties played strong defense in the early stages, a series of long runs set up multiple penalty corners, though the Lakers were unable to convert any of them.
But Rachel McLaughlin was able to break through with 9:03 left in the first half. Breaking up the middle through a wall of Little Falls defenders, she charged the net and slipped a backhand shot past Mounties goalie Carolyn Alford.
Little Falls allowed nothing more, and despite eight Cazenovia penalty corners, the Lakers had to carry that 1-0 lead to halftime.
It didn’t stay a one-goal margin for long. Just 1:52 into the second half, Ashley Kent positioned herself in front of the goal and, taking Maria Stalder’s pass from the left wing, put home the goal.
Barely two minutes later, Cazenovia converted a penalty corner with a series of point-blank shots that Alford turned back before Zoe Shephard finally converted.
Then McLaughlin returned for her second goal with 18:56 left, fed by Shephard, and within two minutes another fast break led to Sarah Willard’s goal, assisted by McLaughlin, less than two minutes later. Stalder would tack on one final goal in the waning minutes.
At occasional times, Little Falls had to be dealt with when it went into the Lakers’ end. Defenders Meredith Shephard, Maddie Langey, Josie Chiarello and Sarah Liddell held the Mounties to just two shots for the day, keeping goalie Kimber Nourse well-protected.
With the win, Cazenovia improves to 14-2-1, and returns to ESM’s turf Wednesday night at 5:30 to take on no. 3 seed Holland Patent in the Class C sectional final.
The Golden Knights needed overtime to oust no. 2 seed Canastota 3-2 in its semifinal, and remembers how it lost in penalty strokes to the Lakers in this title game a year ago.
In order to return to the state tournament, Cazenovia would have to win the sectional Class C final, and then prevail in a play-in game against the survivor of the Class D final, Weedsport or Morrisville-Eaton, on Saturday at Rome Free Academy Stadium.
