A decade-long run of Section III championships is something in which the Cazenovia field hockey team takes immense pride – and doesn’t want to end anytime soon.
Yet it nearly did end Sunday afternoon at Fayetteville-Manlius High School, where the top-seeded Lakers had to make a second-half comeback and then go to overtime to prevail, 3-2, over no. 4 seed Little Falls in the sectional Class C semifinals.
Zoe Shephard netted the game-winner with 1:25 left in the first seven-on-seven extra period. She said this scare can only help the Lakers moving forward.
“Now we know what it feels like to have it almost taken from us,” said Shephard.
Cazenovia had not played in nine days. While the Lakers rested, practiced and added players from the JV team to its roster, Little Falls had to survive overtime to beat Clinton 1-0 in last Tuesday’s opening round.
At first, it didn’t look like the layoff hurt the Lakers too much. Not long after a gust of wind knocked over one of the nets, Shephard converted on a rebound into that same net 6:35 into the first half.
Little Falls absorbed this, and six minutes later, tied it on a transition goal converted by Miranda Hubbell off a feed from Laura Wind. Before Cazenovia could recover, the Mounties again unleashed a fast break and Erin Manley, taking a pass from Hubbell, shot it past Shea Flannery.
So Cazenovia trailed, 2-1, and for the rest of the half found itself outworked and rarely able to mount an attack. Head coach Lorraine Scheftic said her team had to pick up pressure – which it did.
“We hustle hard, which is what I love about this team,” said Shephard.
Much of the second half was spent with the ball in Little Falls’ end. On the one hand, the Lakers felt plenty of frustration because it could not convert on any of its 12 penalty corners.
However, a transition opportunity led to the tying goal with 15:07 left as Morgan Giordano poked in a pass from Janie Kempf. For the rest of regulation, Cazenovia swarmed, aiming to go in front, but didn’t do so, even having a possible game-winner in the final minute disallowed because the ball struck a foot of one of the Lakers.
Overtime is a seven-on-seven game. Twice in the early portion of the extra period, the Lakers got penalty corners and were turned back, but the Mounties could not win it with two penalty corners of its own.
Then, with Little Falls again trying to clear out of its own end, Giordano forced a turnover and drove in from the right side of the net, passing it to Shephard, who moved the ball around Mounties goalie Mackenzie Harrington and put in the game-winner.
On Thursday night at Rome Free Academy Stadium, the Lakers go for an 11th consecutive sectional title against no. 3 seed Holland Patent, who beat Canastota 2-1 in the other semifinal. Scheftic said that the scare with Little Falls reflects a reality for the Lakers in pursuit of more championship glory.
“Every (game) from here on out is going to be like this,” she said.
