What the Cazenovia girls lacrosse team hoped was that all of the tough battles it went through in the Onondaga High School League would pay off with a deep run in the Section III Class C playoffs.
But the no. 6 seed Lakers never got out of the quarterfinal round. In a trip to Dexter Tuesday night, Cazenovia kept in touch with no. 3 seed General Brown for a half, but then fell away as the Lions, by a 19-9 margin, moved ahead.
General Brown had gone 13-3 in the regular season and spent most of the spring in the state Class C top 10 (it entered the sectional tournament with the no. 6 state ranking), sweeping powerful Carthage and knocking off defending Class B sectional champion Watertown along the way.
And the very first victory of the Lions’ season, on March 28, was against Cazenovia, a 15-8 decision that foretold GB’s success, but also gave the Lakers an idea of what to expect should a rematch in the post-season take place.
Right from the outset, the pace was quick, and the Lions sent its two best attackers, Bryanna Fazio and Emily Amell, right at Cazenovia, with considerable success.
The Lakers did enough with its attack to only trail by four, 9-5, at halftime, but GB didn’t let up one bit and pulled clear as Fazio piled up seven assists to go with her four goals, the passes often going to Amell, who scored six times.
On Cazenovia’s side, Paige Nardella had a three-goal hat trick, while Audrey Burbidge and Keara Dwyer each got two goals and one assist. Taylor Eldred and Grace Milmoe earned single goals and Clare Costello added an assist as Sophie Goris, in the net, recorded seven saves. GB goalie Katelyn Longamore had eight saves.
While the Lions advanced to face South Jefferson in the Class C semifinals, Cazenovia completed a 10-8 season under head coach Caitlin Byrne. The departing seniors class includes Burbidge, Costello, Nardella, Milmoe and Eldred, plus Sam Gates, Sarah Willard and Keeley Race, making for a lot of new faces in the lineup come 2016.
