At last, the Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool field hockey teams were together.
Having spent more than half the regular season on separate journeys, the two neighbors and rivals gathered last Wednesday at LHS Stadium for the first of two regular-season encounters, with the other set for Oct. 13 at Bragman Stadium.
As it turned out, that second game will have to settle what the first did not, since the Northstars and Warriors played to a 2-2 draw. Both teams scored in the first half, and then traded goals again in the second half.
Jamie Wagner and Bri Socker proved the central figures in the game. Wagner netted both of C-NS’s goals, with Katie Thies and Allie Bartlett earning assists, while Socker used her deft passes to assist on both of Liverpool’s scoring plays as Claire Gaynor and Katrina Bragan netted the goals.
So it went to a seven-on-seven overtime period, and despite the numerous chances, neither team could win it. Brittany Cussen finished with four saves on the Warriors’ side, twice the total of Northstars counterpart Nina Trenca.
Prior to this, on consecutive Monday nights, C-NS and Liverpool had taken the measure of long-time powerhouse Cazenovia, and neither would find success.
Exactly a week after the Northstars’ 1-0 defeat at Burton Street Elementary, the Warriors had its chance on home turf at LHS Stadium last Monday night, but its porous defense proved costly in a 5-2 defeat to the Lakers.
Though Cazenovia was playing its fifth game in eight days, it was also burning after falling 3-2 to Vestal in the Sept. 24 final of the O’Connor Classic at Camden. Determined to bounce back, the Lakers proved the better finisher against Liverpool, though both teams took the same amount of shots.
Gaynor’s recent stretch of strong play continued as he netted a goal and assisted on Nicole Wilson’s tally. But four different Cazenovia players would convert, led by star junior Zoe Shephard, who had two goals and one assist. Morgan Giordano, Mikaylee Whalen and Delaney Yates had the other goals.
Following the tie with Liverpool, C-NS went to the Knight Time Tournament at Rome Free Academy Stadium, where it faced Holland Patent in the opening round as undefeated Baldwinsville faced host RFA.
C-NS shut out the Golden Knights 3-0, getting away in the second half behind a well-balanced attack where Thies, Bartlett and Jessica Snyder took turns earning goals and assists were credited to Wagner and Abbey Szumloz. The Northstars’ defense held Holland Patent to three shots all night.
With B’ville topping RFA 4-1 in the other opening-round game, C-NS would get a second shot at the Bees, having given them a close call Sept. 9 at home before taking a 3-2 defeat.
Here, Wagner scored early, assisted by Szumloz, to get C-NS on the board, but the Bees still took a one-goal lead to halftime and, utilizing its defense, broke up all kinds of Northstars runs, eventually prevailing 3-1.
Shylea Dukat would convert two of B’ville’s three goals. Amanda Strenk netted the other goal, with Olivia Wachob and Lauren Brushingham picking up assists. Bees goalie Abbey Timmons was terrific, too, stopping eight of the nine C-NS shots she faced.
This week’s work for C-NS includes another clash with Cazenovia on Wednesday, this time on home turf, prior to Friday’s visit from Fayetteville-Manlius, who would host Liverpool earlier in the week as the Warriors also host East Syracuse Minoa on Friday.
