Putting up big numbers against overmatched foes is one thing. Doing so against someone that could contend for league and sectional honors is quite another.
In that spirit, the Cazenovia girls soccer team took a giant step forward in last Monday night’s game at Skaneateles, relying on its defense early and its attack in the latter stages to win this Laker duel by a 3-2 margin.
As it ran on to the Hyatt Stadium turf, Cazneovia, who was 2-0, knew that Skaneateles, also off to a 2-0 start, had torn through its first two opponents (Jordan-Elbridge and Phoenix) by a combined 19-2 margin.
But Cazenovia was unafraid of this, especially on defense, where it proceeded to blank Skaneateles in the first half. Even though the visiting Lakers also got shut out, the 0-0 margin gave a boost of confidence to Cazenovia’s chances.
Even more of a boost arrived when Cazenovia scored twice early in the second half to gain a 2-0 lead. That only seemed to wake up the host Lakers, though, for it wasted little time pulling back even, 2-2, Emmeline Graham scoring in the 52nd minute off a pass from Tate Green to put her team on the board and then, in the 64th minute, Green scoring thanks to a feed from Catie Woodruff.
Now it was Cazenovia’s turn to prove its resilience, reclaiming the lead five minutes later and hanging on behind Johnson’s nine saves, the same total as Kush.
And despite all the Skaneateles attempts to contain her, Audrey Burbidge still scored twice, giving her 10 goals in three games, with Clare Costello assisting on one of those scoring plays and earning the other goal.
Any thought that Cazenovia might have a letdown when it returned home to face Hannibal on Wednesday night quickly dissipated thanks to a first-half outburst that led to a 5-0 shutout of the Warriors.
Johnson provided the spark, stopping a penalty kick in the game’s 11th minute. Two minutes later, Cazenovia got it own penalty shot and Crawford converted, igniting a run that included Burbidge’s goal a few minutes later.
Then Saige Ackermann took over, heading home Kelsi Fredericks’ corner kick in the 24th minute and, five minutes later, scoring again on a fast break. Grace Milmoe’s goal, fed by Jamie Joseph, made it a five-goal margin at halftime, where it stood the rest of the way.
Playing again on Saturday at the Sean Googin Sports Complex, Cazenovia dismissed Homer by that same 5-0 margin, getting started with Costello’s first-half goal and making it 2-0 when Milmoe scored off a feed from Ackermann.
Celebrating her birthday, Ackermann tacked on a goal in the second half, with Burbidge and Casey Crawford scoring, too, giving the Lakers five different goal-scorers. Fredericks chimed in with two assists, while Burbidge and Crawford got one assist apiece.
While Cazenovia broke through at Skaneateles, Chittenango, looking for a similar big effort at CBA last Monday night, never got close in a 5-0 defeat to the Brothers.
With the Brothers’ defense shadowing Lauren Billington everywhere, the Bears had to make its own stops, and Katy Myka did what she could, recording 10 saves.
Yet CBA seized control early, grabbing a 3-0 margin by halftime, and pulling further away behind Kate LaCasse, who had two goals and one assist, and Emily Ehle, who got a goal and two assists. Sam McKenna and Anna Schug earned the other goals.
Off until its own tournament on Saturday, the Bears met Oneida in the opening round, and quickly found its way back to the win column, holding off the Indians 3-2.
As it turned out, a lone first-half goal that gave Chittenango a 1-0 edge made the difference. A wild late exchange followed, with Zoe Olmsted and Riley Markle scoring for Oneida, but Kayla Bain helped the Bears prevail, scoring once and assisting on tallies from Krissy Roberts and Morgan Shoemaker. Billington also had an assist. Myka finished with five saves.
Then the Bears claimed the tournament title Sunday afternoon, beating Solvay 5-3 in a game that was fairly quiet until the second half, when the Bearcats, down 1-0, scored three times, two of them by Mackenzie Lee.
Yet Chittenango still answered every time, Billington recording her latest three-goal hat trick as Shoemaker and Morgan Young also scored. Alli Cerio had a pair of assists, with Young and Maddie Flack also getting assists Central Square topped Oneida 3-1 in the consolation game.
