With the Westhill girls lacrosse team planted at no. 2 in the state Class D rankings and Marcellus still in the no. 6 spot, a whole lot of importance was attached to Wednesday night’s meeting besides the natural rivalry the two schools share.
Knowing that they might meet each other for higher stakes later in the month, the Mustangs got the best part of the early going, but later on it was the Warriors, strong on both ends, able to take charge and pull out a 10-8 victory.
As it turned out, the Mustangs were a two-player attack. Anna Vetsch and Laura Canny were responsible for every single goal during an active first half, and their work was enough to inch Marcellus in front 6-5 going to the break.
But though Vetsch had five goals and Canny added three goals, no other Mustangs player helped them, and Westhill, with more options, fought their way in front during the second half.
True, Rebecca Gilhooley had three goals and three assists, but aid came from Caroline Miller and Gianna Zerrillo, who each scored twice. Also, Reilly Geer, Grace Winkler and Kendra MacCaull earned goals, negating the nine saves from Marcellus goalie Kenai Cameron.
A day earlier, neither team had much stress as Westhill went to Tully and prevailed 14-5 over the Black Knights, while Marcellus dominated Jordan-Elbridge in a 19-2 decision.
Not wasting much time, Marcellus steadily built a 13-1 halftime advantage on J-E and just kept going, Katy Wangnsess leading the way with five goals as Vetsch got three goals and three assists.
Canny also scored three times, adding two assists as Sarah Hutchings had two goals and one assist. Casey Conklin got a goal and two assists, with Lily Locastro, Madison Green, Maisie Moses, Madeline Caron and Elena Shaw also converting.
Gabby Smart and Chelsea Curtis earned J-E’s lone goals, and Gabby Skotinski was busy in the net for the Eagles, finishing the night with 12 saves.
Earlier that day, Westhill had a rare game on a natural-grass surface, but still took control against Tully late in the first half, building an 8-2 advantage on the Black Knights.
And the Warriors protected that lead well, with three-goal hat tricks from four different players –Gilhooley, Winkler, Zerrillo and MacCaull. Gilhooley also had five assists, with Miller getting three assists and Winkler two assists. Franny Argentieri stopped nine of the 14 shots she faced.
