Now the Cazenovia and Chittenango girls lacrosse teams are in the same league – but not at the same level, at least by the early returns.
The Madison County neighbors met Wednesday night at the Sean Googin Sports Complex, and it was the Lakers dominating from start to finish as it put away Chittenango by a score of 14-3 to end a three-game skid.
During a one-sided first half, Cazenovia won most of the draws and camped out in the Bears’ end, patiently working on its attack until it got chance to score and converted them en route to an 8-0 halftime edge.
Kayla Dorrance led the way, with three goals and four assists. Kristie Kleine also scored three times for a hat trick, while Grace Milmoe and Hadley Lucas both scored twice.
Kelsey Henderson put up a goal and assist, with Emily Willard, Lucy Shepard and Hailey Lavelle also getting single goals. Jessie Matt and Kaitlyn Gerber picked up assists. All of the Bears’ goals came in the second half as Katrina Farsaci, Kaitlin Antelmi and Sierra Shafer each scored once.
From there, the Lakers went on to defeat Jordan-Elbridge 13-9 on Friday night, a game that was tied, 6-6, at halftime before Cazenovia took charge in the latter stages.
Dorrance, with her five assists, fed passes to Kleine and Matt, who had three goals apiece. Kali Cook added a pair of goals as Shepard, Dorrance, Gerber, Lavelle and Clare Costello earned one goal apiece. Henderson finished with two assists.
Two nights before playing Cazenovia, Chittenango played a strong first half against Westhill, only to fall apart late in a 19-8 defeat to the Warriors.
A balanced, effective attack helped the Bears keep up with Westhill’s torrid pace. It only trailed 10-7 at the break as Kaitlin Antelmi, Sierra Shafer, Lauren Billington and Emily Gibbons would each produce two goals, with Antelmi adding an assist.
Westhill adjusted its defense, though, and blanked Chittenango for most of the second half. Alyssa Crane made 16 saves, but could not keep everything out as Nicole Easterly (five goals) and Maggie Tripodi (four goals, five assists) led the visitors.
On Friday night, the Bears lost, 19-6, to Onondaga, never getting on track against the much-improved Tigers despite two goals from Antelmi and Shafer and single tallies from Billington and Lauren Zimmer. Rachel Ashkar (five goals), Samantha Annable (four goals, one assist) and Cori Holbrook (three goals, three assists) led the OCS effort.
Chittenango’s boys team returned to action Thursday, against LaFayette, and finished strong, but dug too deep of a hole before that finish in a 12-10 loss to the Lancers.
LaFayette, coming off a win over previously unbeaten Skaneateles, did not get fazed when the Bears took a 4-3 first-quarter lead. Instead, it clamped down on defense and held Chittenango in check through the middle stages while embarking on a 9-2 run.
Down 12-6 going to the fourth quarter, the Bears charged at the end, with Devin Phelps working his way to two goals and three assists as Kyle Zimmer scored three times. Garrett Sadler and Steve Billington both had a goal and two assists, with Turner Smith and Robert Whittin also scoring.
Still, the Lancers prevailed, overcoming Connor Shea’s total of 15 saves. Brian Phillips led LaFayette, scoring five times, while Nate Beresovoy managed two goals and three assists.
