Though the Skaneateles girls soccer team knows it possesses enough talent and resolve to make a championship push, a pair of regular-season defeats to Cazenovia, ranked in the state Class B top 10, threatened to dent the Lakers’ confidence.
This made Tuesday night’s clash with state Class B no. 4-ranked Westhill at Hyatt Stadium all the more important, and through 100 tense, thrilling minutes, the Lakers managed to play the Warriors on even terms, ending the game in a 2-2 draw.
At 10-1, Westhill possesses a strong all-around game that can overwhelm any opponent, but right from the outset the Lakers showed no fear, matching the Warriors in speed and skill.
In fact, the Lakers had the best chance to go in front near the 10-minute mark of the first half, with Hannah Powers powering her way toward the net and catching Westhill goalie Ariana Heneberry out of position. Powers slid the ball past Heneberry, but Warriors defender Kelly Lippert chased it down and kicked it away right next to the goal line.
Other than that, Westhill owned most of the possession in the first half, but it remained 0-0. That changed, though, during a frenzied sequence early in the second half.
From the right corner in the 50th minute, Westhill’s Dana Radin passed to the middle, where Jayanna Monds waited for Laker goalie Sophie Kush to drift out of her net before sliding the ball past her, putting the Warriors ahead 1-0.
The Lakers trailed for less than 90 seconds, answering off a corner kick moments later as Lauren Goodchild’s hard strike found the middle and, amid a scramble, Powers poked it past Heneberry.
It was 1-1, and stayed that way for the rest of regulation and through a quiet first 10-minute overtime period. Then, in the second OT, things got wild again.
Kush initiated the wild part, sprinting out of her net to stop Tatiana Monds from a sure go-ahead goal. Then the Lakers’ Tate Green broke free up the middle and, remembering that she pushed an open shot wide early in the game when she fired too soon, waited a split second longer, and then fired a low shot into the net with 5:28 left.
Yet before the Lakers could celebrate, Westhill attacked again, and with 3:38 left Katelyn Karleski, taking a pass from Jayanna Monds, ripped a hard shot into the top left corner of the net, one that Kush had no chance to stop.
That’s where it would end, providing quite a thrill for the fans and giving everyone reason to watch the rematch between Skaneateles and Westhill on the Warriors’ home turf next Wednesday at 5 p.m.
