No one involved with the Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool girls lacrosse teams was resting during what was, for most students, a break from school.
Instead, the Northstars and Warriors basked in midday sun and tough challenges from a string of opponents ahead of Tuesday night’s rematch at LHS Stadium of an April 12 game C-NS claimed 9-7 on home turf.
Playing at home didn’t help C-NS, though, when it took on Baldwinsville last Monday afternoon and lost to the Bees by that exact same 9-7 margin, despite a massive effort from Jessica Meneilly.
Having gone 3-0 the week before (including wins over Liverpool, West Genesee and Shenendehowa), B’ville had lots of momentum, and inched its way in front of the Northstars 5-4 by halftime.
What kept the Bees from pulling away was a C-NS defense that improved as the game went on and Meneilly carrying the attack, netting six of her team’s seven goals and assisting on the other, by Megan Tryniski. Brenna Duffy had two assists and Fran Tortora one assist.
Ultimately, B’ville benefited from having more than one option. Hannah Johnson had three goals, with Peyton Fleming adding two goals and two assists as Katie Pascale also scored twice. Sara Goodwin and Maria Henwood had the other goals.
Then it was Liverpool’s turn for a tough home game against West Genesee, who had lost to C-NS on April 16 but had knocked off defending Section III Class A champion CBA later that week.
Just how tough was quickly apparent for the Warriors as it lost, 12-1, to the Wildcats, who blanked Liverpool until Brittany Halpin’s goal with 3:40 to play.
Even with Liverpool attempting to slow things down in the first half, the Wildcats built a 4-0 advantage on goals by Emily Stratton, Phoebe Nelson, Matisyn Schaut and Elise Mancabelli.
Then it got further away, WG building an 11-0 advantage before Halpin’s tally.Schaut netted three more goals in that second half, with Nelson adding a second goal to go with three assists overall.
Now both teams sought to recover, and C-NS did so in a tough game Wednesday against Vestal (Section IV) as it held off the Golden Bears 9-8.
C-NS worked its way to a 7-4 halftime advantage, but had to lean on its defense to protect that lead when the pace slowed late. Kaitlyn Lippert had one of her best games of the season, stopping 10 of the 18 Vestal shots she faced.
Duffy had three assists to go wither lone goal as Meneilly earned three goals,with Tryniski and Makena Scarlata getting two goals apiece. Molly Molchanoff had one goal and one assist as Tortora and Olivia Massena gained assists.
On Friday, C-NS made a road trip to Maryland, where it dropped a 15-14 overtime battle to Maryvale Prep. Meneilly had five goals as Duffy got six assists, with Massena getting three goals and Tortora two goals. Scarlata, Tryniski and Molchanoff joined Duffy in getting single goals.
