Early last week, each of the Skaneateles lacrosse teams saw games postponed by the April snowstorm and its lingering effects..
With the boys unable to visit Cortland last Monday night, and the girls unable to take on LaFayette a night later, everyone waited for conditions to improve a bit before the season resumed.
When it did, the Skaneateles boys got the better of it, venturing Saturday to Fayetteville-Manlius and clamping down on the defensive end to account for much of its success in a 10-4 victory over the Hornets.
F-M, who won the Section III Class A title in 2014, had lost both of its first two games by one-goal margins, to Syracuse and Marcellus, but had just routed Liverpool two nights earlier and, in theory, should have owned more confidence, since Skaneateles had lost its last outing, 10-6, to Baldwinsville on April 2.
But after an evenly played first half that saw Skaneateles fight to a 5-4 lead, F-M did not score again. Combined, the Lakers’ back line of Chris Corona, Kevin Danaher, Reece Eddy and Marc Welch stifled whatever the Hornets tried to establish, and when shots did get on the net, Kyle Oschner stopped them on his way to 10 saves.
Meanwhile, the Lakers’ production remained steady, which created a winning margin. Jack VanSlyke led the way with four goals and one assist, while Sam Duggan, Reggie Buell and John Danforth each scored twice, with Danforth adding an assist.
Back home at Hyatt Stadium, the Skaneateles girls lacrosse team had a big test against Section I power Suffern, who had ripped past Baldwinsville 15-5 the day before on that same turf.
The Lakers proved stingy against the Mounties – but Suffern still prevailed, 8-4, breaking out of a 3-3 halftime tie with a strong second-half push where it claimed most of the draws and controlled the game’s tempo, preventing Skaneateles from doing much.
Abby Kuhns was one of four Lakers to net one goal apiece, adding an assist as Bailey Herr, Sophie Kush and Catie Woodruff also found the net. Molly Newton added an assist. Allison Weiss finished with eight saves.
Still at home Tuesday, the Skaneateles girls face Onondaga before a key early-season showdown Friday against Westhill. On the boys end, the Lakers visit Marcellus Tuesday before welcoming LaFayette on Saturday and South Jefferson on Saturday afternoon.
