Everything for the Marcellus girls lacrosse team pointed toward its second opportunity at toppling its main rival, state Class C no. 1-ranked Skaneateles.
But before the state no. 5-ranked Mustangs could venture to Hyatt Stadium this Wednesday night, it first had to endure a gauntlet that included last Monday’s makeup of a snowed-out April 15 game against those other Lakers from Cazenovia.
A big surge late in the first half proved decisive as Marcellus beat Cazenovia 13-8. Trailing 3-1 after a poor start, the Mustangs woke up and proceeded to hammer the Lakers with eight unanswered goals, most of them in the latter stages of the first half.
And though Cazenovia made a valiant comeback attempt, Marcellus proved out of reach as Grace Hunt, with six assists, again served as the catalyst, especially for Grace Nolan, who scored five times, and Ally Burrows, who got four goals.
Hunt also scored twice, matching Abby Vetsch’s total, with Maddie Conklin getting one goal and one assist. Audrey Cerrone earned two assists. Other than Grace Milmoe, who scored four times, no Cazenovia player managed multiple goals.
A day later, the Mustangs rolled past Onondaga 23-6, setting a furious pace the Tigers could not keep up with as Conklin piled up a career-best seven goals, plus an assist, while Nolan put together five goals and six assists.
Cerrone roared back to form with her own five-goal outing, with Hunt getting six assists, to go with a single goal. Burrows managed two goals and one assist, while Jenna Rao, Gianna Dixe and Abby Vetsch managed the other goals.
Then, in its third game in four days, Marcellus routed Tully 21-7, overcoming a shaky first half on the defensive side to manage a 10-6 lead and wearing down the Black Knights during a dominant 11-1 second-half surge.
Nolan scored six times, adding a pair of assists. Kelly added four goals, while Burrows and Cerrone had three goals apiece. Conklin stepped up with two goals and three assists, with Hunt getting two goals and two assists and Dixe adding a single goal.
That game with Skaneateles would come in between other local showdowns for the Mustangs against Jordan-Elbridge on Monday and Bishop Ludden on Saturday afternoon.
