At the tail end of a winning and productive week, the Fayetteville-Manlius girls lacrosse team saved its best effort for its toughest opponent.
Skaneateles, winner of the last five Section III Class C titles and a state finalist three years running, engaged in a great defensive battle with the Hornets last Saturday before the hosts held on to beat the Lakers 8-7.
Unlike so many other girls lacrosse games, goals became precious. A shutout for the game’s first six-plus minutes set the tone before Skanetaeles’ Maddy Morrissey scored to put her team on the board.
F-M answered quickly, as Morgan Axenfeld, Shannon McHugh and sophomore Taylor Robinson converted to put the Hornets up 3-1. A surge at the end of the half, though, helped Skaneateles draw even, 3-3, as they went to the break.
Just 1:05 into the second half, McHugh put in her second goal, fed by Mary Elizabeth Klepper, and the Hornets would not trail again.
All the while, the Lakers unleashed a constant amount of attacks. Somehow, Jessica Hotchkiss, Meg Helmer, Kieley O’Connor-Chapman, Caroline Helmer and Ali O’Neil all did a strong job protecting the net, with Lauren Webster contributing six saves.
A tense exchange of goals saw F-M go up 6-4 and 7-5, the last goal coming from Robinson with 3:08 to play. Skaneateles had Shannon Tierney score off a turnover with 37 seconds left, but F-M won the ensuing draw and ran out the clock.
McHugh finished with three goals, with Robinson adding two goals, including the eventual game-winner. Kate Bonsted had a goal and two assists. Jenna Lotkowictz was the lone Laker player to score twice.
Given a chance to unload on Rome Free Academy last Tuesday night, the Hornets gladly did so, pounding the Black Knights 22-2.
Emily Pierson, McHugh, Bonsted and Axenfeld each had three-goal hat tricks, with Pierson adding three assists and Axenfeld picking up two assists.
Right behind them, Jackie Keleher and Jayne Conahan joined Mary Elizabeth Klepper in the two-goal column, as Robinson, Jenn Williams, Hotchkiss and Sarah Lux got one goal apiece. Klepper and Mary Hartzheim each picked up two assists.
It was supposed to get a bit more challenging when, on Thursday night, F-M hosted Henninger/Nottingham, but a solid all-around effort pushed the Hornets past the Black Knights by a score of 12-4.
A close first half saw Henninger/Nottingham stay within range, only down 5-3. But with Hotchkiss, the Helmers and O’Neil and the rest of F-M’s back line clamping down, the Black Knights got just one goal in the second half.
On the other end, Klepper was producing four goals, just as McHugh got three goals and one assist and Pierson earned four assists. Axenfeld, Bonsted, Hartzheim, Helmer and Kelly Perry also took turns scoring, with Williams adding an assist.
Now comes an unusual week where F-M would meet Baldwinsville on Tuesday, then face the Bees again in a Saturday reschedule of an April 4 postponement — with a Friday home date against Cicero-North Syracuse in between.
