With a veteran lineup and a bitter memory of how last season ended, the Liverpool girls lacrosse team put together an impressive opening effort.
Back in May 2011, the Warriors were on the brink of reaching the Section III Class A final, to be played on the home turf of LHS Stadium, only to squander an 8-4 lead and fall to Baldwinsville in a 12-10 overtime game that stretched out over two days and two different venues due to weather issues.
The schedule in 2012 gave Liverpool an early break, in that it would play its first four games at home, so it had to take full advantage.
Sure enough, Liverpool tore out of the gate in last Thursday’s opener against Westhill and, after some shaky play in the second half, claimed a 14-8 victory over that other group of Warriors.
By dominating early draws, Liverpool roared to a 6-0 lead before the game was eight minutes old. Andrea Flood and Mary Fadden both scored twice, with Mallorie O’Brien and Kylie Long also converting.
After Westhill took a time-out, though, the visitors started to climb back. Aided by the first two of Brenna Rainone’s four goals, it got closer, but Liverpool still went to halftime with a 10-3 lead.
Not giving up, Westhill continued to eat into the margin, and Maggie Tripodi’s second goal made it 12-8 with 8:33 left, forcing head coach Elizabeth Acee to use a time-out of her own. From there, the Warriors controlled possession the rest of the way, tacking on insurance goals from Flood (her fourth of the night) and Morgan Kline.
Fadden finished with three goals and one assist, with Kline and O’Brien each finding the net twice. Lauren Mancini also scored as Marissa Gabriel, who is succeeding Tess Tracy in goal, recorded 10 saves.
Carthage, who lost last year’s Class B final to Oswego at LHS Stadium, returned to that same turf on Saturday, only to run into the Warriors, who this time were strong from start to finish in a 15-5 rout of the Comets.
Again, the attack was sharp, but the difference was that, after gaining an 8-4 halftime edge, the Warriors maintained that pace. And it also shored up the defense, holding Carthage to just a single goal in the second half.
By herself, O’Brien, with five goals, matched the Comets’ output, and Flood was tough to stop, too, with four goals and two assists. Kline added three goals as Fadden scored twice and Natalie Perkins got the other goal.
So the Warriors are 2-0 going into Wednesday night’s match against Baldwinsville, bringing the two combatants in that memorable semifinal back together.
