It has now reached the last week of the field hockey regular season, with Cicero-North Syracuse gearing up for its Section III Class A title defense and Liverpool assessing just how much it had improved during the fall.
All of it preceded by one more head-to-head battle between the Northstars and Warriors last Wednesday night at LHS Stadium. Their first encounter on Sept. 17 at Bragman Stadium went through all of regulation and overtime without a goal scored on either side.
This time around, someone did get on the board – twice, in the case of C-NS, who used those goals to string together a tough 2-0 victory.
Neither side had many direct chances, but the Northstars broke through twice as senior Katie Thies and freshman Christina Wagner were both able to convert.
The rest was done by a stingy C-NS defense that, again, kept Liverpool quiet, limiting the Warriors to just three shots as its season concluded with a 4-10-2 record.
Early last week, Liverpool welcomed long-time power Cazenovia to LHS Stadium, and found itself shut down throughout the evening as it fell to the Lakers by that same 2-0 margin.
Cazenovia used goals by Maddie Young and Peyton Clarke to move out in front, and the Warriors couldn’t answer them as goalie Madison Ecker finished the night with five saves.
Meanwhile, in girls soccer, C-NS and Liverpool met up Thursday night at LHS Stadium. Having won the first encounter Sept. 19, the Northstars would prove just as good in the rematch, containing the Warriors and eventually producing a 3-0 shutout victory.
Two nights earlier, C-NS had hosted West Genesee, with its remaining home games moved to Bragman Stadium due to lighting issues at Archie Hall Stadium.
For a half, that plan worked as Victoria Iannotti scored and the Northstars’ defense did its part, too. But that 1-0 lead did not hold as the Wildcats, with goals from Emma Nelson, Eva Poissant and Emily Dunning, prevailed 3-1, overcoming six saves by Ava Field.
Liverpool would finish its season taking on Fayetteville-Manlius Wednesday night after an unusual Monday-morning match against New Hartford made possible by the school holiday.
