Not until October will the Cazenovia field hockey team play again at its home field next to Burton Street Elementary School.
At least the Lakers head out on this three-week, seven-game venture with its long Onondaga High School League win streak intact after Thursday’s 2-0 shutout of Weedsport at Burton Street.
That’s now 64 consecutive league victories, going back to 2005. And extending that mark required all kinds of patience against a Weedsport side that proved quite stubborn.
No less than 14 times in the first half, Cazenovia earned penalty-corner opportunities to get on the scoreboard, only to have the Warriors snuff them all out. Either shots flew wide, or they were deflected, or Weedsport goalie Gabriella Barrigar, who finished with 12 saves, kicked them out of danger.
So it was 0-0 early in the second half, and the Lakers endured two more unsuccessful penalty corners. Finally, on the 17th try 3:13 into the half, Jillian Vogl passed it to MaryKate Conley, who rocketed a hard shot from the left past Barrigar into the cage.
Less than five minutes later, the Lakers again worked the ball around the perimeter, and from close to the same spot as Conley’s tally, Jessy Silfer drilled her own hard shot home to double the margin.
Cazenovia would not convert anymore, but the defense, led by Silfer, SarahRose Gabor, Maggie Carpenter and Maggie Namy, proved so effective that Weedsport did not manage a single shot on the net.
This followed the Lakers’ 5-0 romp at Port Byron on Tuesday afternoon, a game where it took 34 shots overall against Panthers goalie Amanda Lupo on its way to moving the league win streak to 63.
Though Lupo did record 29 saves, Vogl still put up two goals and one assist. Silfer, Nicole Chiarello and Emily Willard earned the other goals, while Rachel Nourse added an assist.
Starting with Monday’s trip to Homer, the Lakers go all over the Central New York map, returning to the same area to meet Cortland next Wednesday and visiting East Syracuse-Minoa Friday. Trips to Rome Free Academy and Cato-Meridian, plus a tournament in Camden, follow before the long-awaited return to Burton Oct. 5 for the rematch with ESM.
