All of the bonding on and off the field, all of the anticipation for daily practices, all of the yoga sessions, and all of the times where they gave up their cell phones for road trips – it has led to what the Skaneateles girls lacrosse team will hope to accomplish in the next three weeks.
Not only do the Lakers want to repeat as Section III Class C champions, it wants to pick up the third state title in program history, and will enter the post-season at no. 2 in the state rankings behind Mount Sinai, the team that beat them for the crown a year ago at SUNY-Cortland.
Given that, Skaneateles was quite happy to go out and scout Mount Sinai on May 10, when the Mustangs defeated CBA 11-5 at Alibrandi Stadium. Then it stored away the knowledge gathered during that game, hoping to use it again at Cortland on the first weekend in June.
There was, of course, the small matter of finishing off the regular season, which the Lakers did by going to Jordan-Elbridge last Wednesday night and cruising to a 20-5 victory over the Eagles.
By halftime, Skaneateles already enjoyed a 15-1 lead, employing its crushing combination of speed and skill on an overmatched J-E squad, just as it had done when it beat them 19-3 back on April 15.
Alana Navaroli, with three goals and three assists, and Hannah Powers, with two goals and three assists, set the pace for the Lakers as Kyla Sears scored a team-high four goals.
Molly Newton and Bailey Herr, seeing extended minutes, each scored twice, as did Molly Wood, with Nicole Beatson getting a goal and three assists. Natalie Roche and Catie Woodruff joined Makena Gorman and Abby Kuhns in earning single goals.
From its perch as the top seed in the sectional Class C bracket, Skaneateles got a first-round bye and, in Tuesday night’s quarterfinals, will face no. 8 seed Cazenovia or no. 9 seed Bishop Ludden, who met each other in the opening round just the night before.
A Skaneateles win would put them in the semifinals next Friday at Liverpool High School Stadium against no. 4 seed LaFayette or no. 5 seed Westhill, with the title game at the Carrier Dome on May 27.
