Not that long ago, the Skaneateles girls lacrosse team defined itself by how it did against Christian Brothers Academy, especially when both were in the same class and fighting for championship honors.
Now, wit the Brothers as reigning state Class A champions, the Lakers challenged them again last Thursday night at Alibrandi Stadium, and all of the elements, from timely goals to strong and consistent defense, helped Skaneateles beat the Brothers 9-6.
CBA had just gone through an interesting stretch, falling on May 6 to West Genesee 6-5 before a tough win over Jamesville-DeWitt right before the Lakers showed up. Perhaps those contests took a toll on the Brothers, especially when compared with Skaneateles playing just twice in the previous 12 days, both of them lopsided wins.
Having not lost a game since Kyla Sears’ late-April return from a knee injury that sidelined her for three weeks, Skaneateles utilized the threat of Sears to great effect throughout this game, while also using long possessions to keep it away from CBA’s potent attackers.
Up 5-3 at halftime, Skaneateles braced itself as CBA tried to rally, yet got answered every time as Sears and Mae McGlynn both netted three goals for the Lakers, Riley Brogan added two goals and Abby Kuhns had one goal and one assist.
Emily Baldwin was superb in the net, stopping nine of the 15 shots she faced, and she got help from defenders like Olivia Dobrovosky, Mikaela Terhune and Christina Ciaccio, who kept track of the Brothers’ busy, deep offensive rotation and didn’t let any of them get too comfortable.
Emily Penoyer was the lone CBA player to find the net more than once, netting a three-goal hat trick. Grace Hulslander had a goal and two assists, while Meredith Strott and Claire Jeschke had the other goals. Tate Kohlbrenner picked up an assist and Nicoletti-Watson earned seven saves.
Skaneateles had tuned up by beating state Class D no. 9-ranked LaFayette 19-6 last Tuesday at Hyatt Stadium. Pouring right through the Lancers’ defenses, the Lakers built up a 13-3 halftime margin and kept on rolling as Olivia Navaroli scored a season-best five goals and Riley Brogan got four goals and one assist.
Sears managed three goals and three assists, with Grace Dower getting two goals and four assists. Emma Goodell also found the net twice and got two assists as Kuhns and McGlynn each had one goal and one assist. Gaby Welch added a goal and defender Olivia Dobrovosky earned an assist.
The win over CBA was supposed to be the first part of a charged twin bill of games that included, on Saturday, a trip to Scranton, Pennsylvania for another showdown with Mount Sinai, the team that three times in the last four years have beaten Skaneateles in the state final four, twice in the title game.
But weather concerns forced the Lakers’ showdown with the Mustangs to get canceled, so Skaneateles has just one regular-season game remaining, against Section V’s Penfield on Wednesday.
