Even though it possessed the no. 4 seed in the Section III Class B playoffs and nearly had made it into the state rankings, the Skaneateles girls soccer team knew quite well that just getting out of the first week would require lots of effort, especially with familiar opposition.
That point was driven home in last Tuesday night’s opening-round game against no. 13 seed Jordan-Elbridge at Hyatt Stadium, where the Lakers kept things nervous until a second-half surge subdued the Eagles in a 4-1 victory that would prove costly.
Raenah Campbell used her strong leg to put in a long-range goal less than 11 minutes into the game., but J-E tied it, 1-1, when Emily Somes converted in the 23rd minute, assisted by Emma Burns.
With Eagles goalie Mia Arms strong in the net on her way to 12 saves, it stayed 1-1 through halftime, but less than five minutes into the second half, the Lakers gained control for good when Campbell, from long range, put it past Arms for the second time.
Less than eight minutes later, Skaneateles made it 3-1 when Shay McCarthy scored, and McCarthy converted again with 14:20 let to put the game away, having already earned an assist to join Grace Dower and Maddie Peterson in that column.
Just before the game ended, Grace Buchholz, a stalwart on the Lakers’ defense all season, went down with a leg injury. Her absence would forced changes in the Skaneateles back line with little time – namely, two days – to implement them.
And this led (after a 24-hour weather postponement) to Friday night’s Class B quarterfinal, a Laker duel between Skaneateles and no. 5 seed Cazenovia, who had less stress in its opening-round game, a 5-0 shutout of Chittenango, but was without Hannah Matteson, its goalie for most of the season, out with a slight concussion.
Though Skaneateles had won their lone regular-season meeting 2-1 on Sept. 22, it knew that Cazenovia possessed a potent attack led by Saige Ackermann, who had scored 29 goals this season, including two against Chittenango in the opening round. And both sides were aware of the wet, cold conditions that would prevail throughout the game.
For those that braved all of those elements to attend, they were treated to a long, tough battle that stretched into overtime before Skaneateles, led by the Peterson sisters, fought past Cazenovia 3-1.
During the first half, Campbell put the hosts in front, 1-0, but for the rest of regulation Skaneateles struggled to do much against a fierce Cazenovia defense even after the visitor’s sweeper, Morgan Maliga, went out with an injury in the early going.
At the same time, though, the visiting Lakers, especially Ackermann, got stymied – at least until Kirsten Underwood’s unassisted goal in the second half tied it, 1-1. In fact, it was Cazenovia getting a majority of the possession, peppering the Skaneateles back line, who held as long as it could while seeing Grace Kush pick up seven saves.
When regulation ended 1-1, 20 full minutes of overtime, split into a pair of 10-minute periods, was required, Picking up its pressure, Skaneateles inched out in front with a goal from Tess Peterson, and though it proved enough, the host Lakers still got Maddie Peterson to tack on another goal in the second OT. Olivia Navaroli and Olivia Dobrovosky both were credited with assists on the Skaneateles scoring plays.
Now a big challenge awaits Skaneateles in the sectional semifinals Tuesday night at 7:30 at Nottingham High School as it tries to take out top seed and state no. 2-ranked Westhill, a team it lost to by a 4-0 margin the only time they met in the regular season on Sept. 20.
The other sectional semifinal at Camden would pit no. 3 seed Lowville, who has allowed just one goal all season, against no. 7 seed Clinton, who stunned no. 2 seed and defending champion Marcellus to get this far. And the winners go to SUNY-Cortland Friday at 6 p.m. to square off for the sectional title.
