In each of the last two seasons, the Cicero-North Syracuse girls lacrosse team has made it to the Section III Class A championship game, only to get turned back – by Baldwinsville in 2013, and by West Genesee in 2014.
Now, in 2015, the Northstars sense that, perhaps, this is finally their time.
Head coach Lloyd Hamilton lost a large and talented group of seniors from a season ago, including Tiffany Ryan, Stephanie Liberati, Samantha Roberts, Courtney Kenny, Caitlyn Morris, Miriam Ghabaro and Katie Uva.
However, strong players remain, including proven stars like Hanna Haven, Meghan Duffy, Mary Kate Bonanni, Bri Stahr, Samantha Tortora, Bryar Cummings and Lexxi Knoblock, giving C-NS plenty of reason to think it can make that sectional breakthrough.
First, the Northstars had to face South Jefferson in last Thursday night’s season opener at Bragman Stadium, and none of it proved easy, though C-NS held on to beat the Spartans 13-12.
This was no pushover that C-NS was facing. Led by the likes of Carissa Alexander, South Jefferson made it all the way to the sectional Class C final a season ago before falling to eventual state champion Skaneateles.
The Northstars’ defense had plenty of difficulty containing South Jefferson in the first half, so it required plenty of production for C-NS to take an 8-6 lead to the break.
All through a tense second half, the Northstars answered every time the Spartans saw Alexander and Clarissa Perry each score three times, with Hayley McGuire adding a pair of goals.
Hanging on, C-NS got matching totals of three goals and two assists from Duffy and Cummings, with Haven also notching a three-goal hat trick. Stephanie Roberts scored twice as Christie Hahn and newcomer Olivia Africa had one goal apiece.
Other newcomers, including Jessica Menelly, Megan Tryniski and Olivia Massena, also saw action and, by gaining some ground balls, helped C-NS maintain possession.
Two days later, C-NS met Section V power Honeoye Falls-Lima, and this game stretched to three overtime periods before the Northstars lost to the Cougars.
Taking an early 2-0 lead, C-NS could not hang on, and the back-and-forth battle began. HF-L tied it, 5-5, and then scored the last two goals of the half to lead 7-5 at the break.
It stayed that way until late in regulation, when the Northstars, down 10-7, caught fire, going on a 4-1 run to close regulation and get even, 11-11, sending it to overtime.
During the pair of mandatory three-minute OT period, neither C-NS nor the Cougars were able to find the net, but in the third sudden-victory period, HF-L netted the game-winner.
Despite the loss, Duffy was sensational, netting four goals and adding three assists. Cummings scored three times, while Haven had two goals. Samantha Tortora and Julia Alberici got one goal apiece as Roberts and Jenna Lippert earned assists.
As that went on, Liverpool opened its season against Westhill, and despite a rough start, Liverpool rallied in the second half to win this Warrior battle by a 12-11 margin.
Westhill played a terrific first half, making its way to a 9-6 lead with a well-balanced attack led by Haileigh Farrell, who scored three times.
Yet that same balance ended up working against Westhill in the second half. Without a go-to player to finish off scoring opportunities (no one other than Farrell scored more than once), Westhill went cold, managing just one goal in those last 25 minutes, while Liverpool caught up and eventually took the lead.
Julia Sardella got three goals, while Jen Kershner, Taylor Fahey and Maggie Tassone had two-goal outings. Tassone added an assist as Kasi Cabrey had three assists to go with her lone tally and Megan Fitzpatrick also scored. Cassidy Hall contributed an assist and Megan Evangelista made several key late stops, getting seven saves overall.
