At last, the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse field hockey teams get together, on the same turf, to face each other Tuesday night at Bragman Stadium.
That was preceded by some interesting contests, including the Warriors’ clash last Saturday against two-time defending state Class C champion Cazenovia that saw a pair of late goals push the Lakers past Liverpool 2-0.
Both sides had won big games on Wednesday night, as C-NS held off Fayetteville-Manlius 2-1 at Bragman Stadium and Liverpool, with another big performance from Emma Lamison, blew out Rome Free Academy 7-1.
In their first encounter three weeks earlier, C-NS and F-M played to a 0-0 draw. That would not happen in the rematch as, just 2:34 into the game, Elise Towers, off the rebound of two different shots on a penalty corner, flicked it into the cage.
It remained 1-0 deep into the second half, the Northstars’ defense shutting off most of what F-M tried to establish. But with 17:41 to play, Lindsey Trachtenberg’s long pass from the right side fround Erica Stube, and the Hornets forward converted to tie it, 1-1.
Barely a minute later, C-NS earned a penalty corner, and a wild scramble ensued in front of Hornets goalie Julie Hockenberger, who earned 14 saves on the night. Here, though, Marina Pitonzo poked a shot past Hockenberger, which proved the game-winner.
Meanwhile, Liverpool was jumping all over RFA, zipping to a 3-0 halftime lead and doubling that margin after the break with some of its best attacking of the entire season.
No one on the Black Knights could stop Lamison, who piled up a season-best four goals and added an assist. Emily Burns helped out with one goal and one assist, while Marissa Penge and Morgan Thomas also scored. Gabby Pasqualara earned an assist.
In between the RFA romp and the battle with Cazenovia, the Warriors went to Baldwinsville Friday afternoon and had to battle all 60 minutes to get a 1-0 decision over the Bees.
It was a good thing for the Warriors that Lamison put in her 13th goal of the season in the first half. From that point forward B’ville’s defense shut Liverpool down, only allowing five shots.
Given a bit more work to do, Liverpool’s defense was up to it, protecting that slim one-goal margin as goalie Megan Evangelista picked up six saves, preserving the shutout.
This led to Cazenovia, a battle throughout the night that turned late in regulation in the Lakers’ favor.
Cazenovia’s primary mission was to contain Lamison, but that nearly backfired in the opening 90 seconds when Liverpool drew a penalty corner and Lamison maneuvered her way to the net, only to get blocked before a shot was fired.
Through a scoreless first half, the Warriors and Lakers earned more than a dozen penalty corners, but could not convert any of them, either through poor passes or attentive defenses that broke up opportunities before they could develop.
This pattern endured deep into the second half. There would be a few minutes of Liverpool pressure, followed by Cazenovia attacking, but it remained 0-0. Both teams had possible go-ahead goals disallowed because they were hit too high.
Between goalie Lauren Devine, who finished with 10 saves, and defenders Maggie Carpenter, Maggie Namy, Maureen Milmoe and Annika Christensen, the Lakers maintained its portion of the shutout and waited for something to break.
With 7:50 left, the break arrived. Off yet another penalty corner, Nicole Chiarello, from the left point, took Emily Willard’s feed and crushed a shot that Evangelista had no chance of stopping as it crashed into the cage, putting Cazenovia up 1-0.
Just after Lamison hit a possible game-tying shot inches wide, Cazenovia pushed again on a fast break. This time, it was Jessy Silfer connecting from the right side, her goal with 5:30 left pushing the margin to two, where it would stay.
