All through August, each of the Cazenovia varsity soccer teams practiced in all kinds of conditions, similar to what they know they would face once the season got underway.
And when they did play their first games last Wednesday, heat, humidity and winds were part of the picture, but this didn’t bother both sets of Lakers as they got one-sided victories.
Cazenovia’s girls really got moving thanks to a 13-0 romp over Jordan-Elbridge that featured a stunning individual effort from Maddie Gavitt.
It was Gavitt who netted each of the Lakers’ first five goals, two of them assisted by Grace Rajkowski as Leigha Fostveit and Taylor Tilison also earned assists.
Finding the net twice more, Maddie Gavitt finished with seven goals, among the best individual single-game totals in Cazenovia history, and younger sister Lili Gavitt chimed in by also scoring twice.
Tilison, off a corner kick, netted a goal, as did Annie Baldwin, Akbaret Tella and Molly Dolan, with Fostveit picking up a second assist late in the contest.
Cazenovia’s boys soccer team did not reach those kinds of numbers, but did charge out of the gate against Homer with all of its goals in the first half as it handled the Trojans 6-1.
Joe Spires picked up a hat trick in those first 40 minutes, his three goals complemented by the two goals and one assist from Trey Schug as Max Michael had the other goal. Logan Comfort and Jack Aronson had one assist apiece.
In the first round of its season-opening tournament, Chittenango romped on its home field, blanking Phoenix 6-0, though in contrast to Cazenovia most of the Bears’ scoring came in the second half.
Pulling away from a 2-0 halftime margin, Chittenango had Sean Larsson score twice, with Tommy McIntosh getting one goal and one assist. David Mullin, Artie Paul and Caleb Prenoveau also converted as assists went to Dan Moon and Jan Hartman.
Chittenango would face Tully in the tournament finals and rode an early goal, plus strong defense, to edge the Black Knights 1-0.
Like Chittenango, Tully had provided plenty of production in its first-round game, outscoring Oneida 7-4, but the final proved quite different as every opportunity that either side could get was precious.
And when Tommy McIntosh netted a first-half goal, the Bears had a lead that, as it turned out, would hold up. Chittenango’s back line stifled Tully, holding them to four shots, all grabbed by Noah Schnauffer.
