Perhaps the biggest hurdle between the Christian Brothers Academy girls lacrosse team and an undefeated regular season has been cleared. Other than the opening minutes, the Brothers had full control of Wednesday night’s game against long-time power Skaneateles, putting together a 15-8 victory over the Lakers to move its record to 11-0. If CBA needed a proper alarm, they got it when Skaneateles seized a 2-0 lead in the game’s first 1:15. Diane Vitkus got one goal, then assisted when Carly Davis converted. It didn’t take long for things to turn around, though. After Sophie Racciatti put her team on the board, the Brothers took charge with three goals in a span of 1:05. Taylor Gait, Meg Hannan and Marisa Romeo scored in that order, forcing Skaneateles to use a time-out. But the Lakers could do little to keep the Brothers from taking over. Perhaps the most impressive part was that the first five goals were scored by five different players – and none of them were named Katie Webster. In fact, Webster did not convert until the 16:44 mark of the first half. But the Syracuse University-bound senior still would score four times, three of them in the second half, as Racciatti also got four goals. Freshman Taylor Poplawski found the net twice. The Brothers’ defense, led by Michelle Wiese, Laena Frechette, Natasha Grant and Julia Nass, did a strong job of containment, and goalie Courtney Henderson made a series of point-blank stops. Grant also had a 60-yard run to the net for a key goal in the second half, helping to thwart the Lakers’ attempts at a comeback. Skaneateles never got closer than five goals. CBA did not have the easiest tune-up for Skaneateles, needing to work the whole way on its home turf in last Monday’s game against Jordan-Elbridge before beating the Eagles 13-10. Much of the Brothers’ offense came from an 8-4 first half, and it held on because the duo of Webster and Taylor Poplawski proved impossible to contain. ‘
Overall, Webster had five goals and two assists, while Poplawski gained four goals and one assist. Racciatti and Romeo each scored twice, with Taylor Gait contributing an assist. Carrie-Jo Farrugia led J-E with three goals as Emily Dillon and Amanda Brown got two goals apiece.