Safe to say, the Cazenovia field hockey is eager to enter the post-season again.
Carrying with it the burning memory of its overtime defeat to Pierson/Bridgehampton in last November’s state Class C final, the Lakers have gone through a 2014 regular season that’s included plenty of tests, but also some impressive all-around efforts.
And no opponent brought out Cazenovia’s best performance the way that East Syracuse-Minoa did, twice, whether it was a 7-0 romp on Sept. 12 at Burton Street or, in Saturday’s regular-season finale, a 5-0 shutout, only this time on the turf at Spartan Stadium.
Though a two-time defending sectional Class B champion, ESM had gone through a fair share of struggles this fall. More importantly, it had played twice during the week, including a 2-0 defeat to Weedsport just two days before Cazenovia arrived.
Meanwhile, the Lakers had rested for a full week since beating Fayetteville-Manlius 3-1 on Oct. 10, so it was refreshed for its rematch with a Spartans team it knew wanted to avoid the lopsided nature of their initial September encounter.
But it took all of three minutes for the Lakers to get control again, with the familiar combination of Sarah Willard and Rachel McLaughlin at work, McLaughlin earning the goal off a Willard feed.
It stayed that way until late in the first half, when McLaughlin struck for a second time, this time with an assist from Sarah Liddell, so Cazenovia carried a 2-0 lead to halftime.
The quick strike served the Lakers well again when, less than a minute into the second half, Ashley Kent fired one past ESM goalie Alyxandra Panarites. Seconds later, McLaughlin converted again, earning the hat trick and stretching the margin to 4-0.
Panarites finished with 23 saves as the Spartans’ defenders never could clear it out. Cazenovia maintained constant pressure, and would see McLaughlin net a fourth goal with three minutes left, the pass coming from Gabby Yates.
The Lakers ended up at 12-3-1, with losses to Burnt Hills/Ballston Lake and Liverpool and a tie with Weedsport, none of which it would have to worry about once the Section III Class C playoffs got underway.
When they do, Cazenovia again has the top seed in Class C, and will return to the ESM turf to play Saturday against no. 4 seed Little Falls or no. 5 seed Clinton. Win there, and the Lakers get to the Oct. 29 final, again at ESM, with Canastota, the no. 2 seed, meeting the Holland Patent-Port Byron survivor in the other semifinal this Saturday at Rome Free Academy Stadium.
