What was already a memorable weekend for the Skaneateles girls lacrosse program was made more so after it won big in a showdown of local powerhouses.
On Friday afternoon, five different seniors signed their college letters on intent. Then, on Saturday night, Skaneateles took to the field at Hyatt Stadium to face reigning state Class B champion Christian Brothers Academy.
And regardless of the personnel situation on both sides (not to mention wind and cold temperatures), Skaneateles put together an emphatic and awesome performance, bashing the Brothers from start to finish and prevailing by a score of 18-6.
Granted, CBA did have some roster turnover from its 2013 state title run, as its two biggest stars, Marisa Romeo and Taylor Poplawski, headed for the college ranks – Romeo to Harvard, Poplawski to Syracuse University.
Still, the Brothers had plenty of talent on hand and had roared through easy wins over Whitesboro and East Syracuse-Minoa, arriving in Skaneateles with the same 2-0 record that the Lakers possessed.
But even if the game was a non-league affair, and the Lakers had the edge in experience and depth, the memory of CBA’s 14-7 victory over them during the 2013 regular season assured that it would not bring anything less than an all-out effort.
Attacking from the start, Skaneateles met some resistance from Brothers goalie Alex Bonner, and were frustrated enough to see star freshman Kyla Sears draw a yellow card.
But when Alana Navaroli scored at the 6:39 mark, everything broke open. In short order, the Lakers saw Molly Wood score twice, plus see Hannah Logan and Hannah Powers find the net to make it 5-0, and that was just half of it.
Wood’s third goal made it 6-0, igniting another surge. At one point, Skaneateles got three goals in a 52-second span, and when Powers returned to net her third goal 30 seconds before halftime, it set up a running clock and an 11-1 margin that was taken to the break.
Not stopping there, Skaneateles built up margins of 15-1 and 16-2 in the second half, as Sears, recovering from her early card, poured in a team-high five goals, to go with a pair of assists.
Just behind Wood and Powers with their respective hat tricks, Navaroli managed two goals and three assists, while Casey VanSlyke and Nicole Beatson each got two goals and two assists. Malorie Olin and Jessica Pileski combined for eight saves.
Skaneateles is home all through this week, meeting Cazenovia on Tuesday night and taking on Clinton Friday night.
