No distractions this time for the West Genesee girls lacrosse team – and no contest, either, as it rolled into yet another Section III Class A title game.
Led again by Erica Geremia and Emily Tripodi, the no. 1 seed Wildcats put away no. 4 seed Fayetteville-Manlius 19-6 Thursday night at CBA’s Alibrandi Stadium in the Class A semifinals.
That win would allow WG (16-1) to play on its home turf Tuesday night in the sectional final against a new opponent – no. 3 seed Liverpool, who knocked off no. 2 seed Baldwinsville 14-11 in the other semifinal.
The Wildcats had met F-M twice during the regular season, winning by scores of 16-4 on April 4 and 16-9 in the regular-season finale on May 16. According to head coach Bob Elmer, the Senior Night festivities in the second meeting altered the team’s focus just enough to let the Hornets hang around for a while.
So without that to worry about, the playoff meeting with F-M resembled the first game – a first-half blitz where the Wildcats attacked in all phases of the game.
Backed by the defensive trio of Shelby Milne, Dana Anderson and Madison Huegel, the Wildcats never let the Hornets get many chances. On the other side, it was ruthless offensive efficiency as WG roared to a 13-2 lead by the time they reached the break.
Geremia, in particular, had fun, outscoring F-M by herself with seven goals and adding two assists. Often, her passes came from Tripodi, who piled up six more assists to go with her three-goal hat trick.
Kara Datellas also found the net three times, while Hannah Elmer scored twice. Shannon Hawley had a goal and three assists as Vicki Graveline got one goal and one assist. Liz LaComb and Marissa Rose had the other goals.
