Hungry again, the Skaneateles girls lacrosse team will waste little time getting into tough competition in the 2012 season.
In the first week of April, the Lakers will host Westhill and visit Fayetteville-Manlius before a key showdown with CBA, the defending state Class C champions.
It was the Brothers who knocked off Skaneateles 12-9 in last year’s Section III final at Liverpool, the second straight year that the Lakers had fallen in a sectional final.
Before things got real busy, Skaneateles got a chance to open its season at home last Wednesday against Watertown, doing just enough to fight past the Cyclones 8-5.
A long-time Class B power, Watertown features, on its attack, Morgan Caldwell and Bri Arthur, who combined for 11 goals (Caldwell six, Arthur five) in a season-opening 15-2 win over Massena.
Here, though, the Lakers’ defense honed in on Caldwell and Arthur throughout the night. It proved effective, as Caldwell only found the net twice and Arthur managed just a single goal. Shannon Byrne was sharp in the net, turning away 10 of the 15 shots she faced.
Despite this, the two sides were tied, 3-3, at halftime before the Lakers steadily took control in the second half.
Nicole Beatson, with two goals and two assists, led a modest, balanced attack where two other veterans, Carly Davis and Shelby McNeilly, also scored twice. Casey VanSlyke and Alana Navaroli had the other goals.
