Given all the new faces in its lineup, it wasn’t a big surprise that the Fayetteville-Manlius girls lacrosse team took a 12-7 defeat to West Genesee last Tuesday night amid the snow in Camillus.
However, the Hornets could take solace in the fact that it overcame a rough start and pushed the Wildcats hard in the second half, coming much closer than other opponents have during WG’s 52-game win streak.
While it has undergone its own roster shift since winning back-to-back state Class A titles, the Wildcats still had stars like Maria DiFato and Bre Hudgins on the roster, and both would hurt the Hornets early.
Thriving in the wintry conditions, the Wildcats raced to an 8-2 edge before F-M could regroup at halftime. DiFato got most of her five goals during this stretch, while Hudgins and Karlyn Tupper each had two goals and one assist.
F-M, to its credit, fought back in the second half, keeping it competitive as the defense improved and Morgan Axenfeld worked her way to four goals, nearly matching DiFato’s output.
However, No other Hornet scored twice, as Mary Hartzheim, Jayne Conahan and Mollie Caputo each had one goal.
