Just as Skaneateles sports fans were done celebrating the state championship of its boys ice hockey team, another group of state champion Lakers was ready to start again.
In girls lacrosse, Skaneateles went all the way to the top in 2014, rolling through everyone in the Section III Class C ranks, and then going to the state tournament, where it routed Owego (17-2) in the regionals, handled Honeoye Falls-Lima 16-6 in the state semifinal and, in the title game at SUNY Cortland, edged Cold Spring Harbor 12-11 on Molly Wood’s last-second goal.
Wood was one of eight seniors to graduate from that team, with the likes of Casey VanSlyke, Nicole Beatson, Kristen Pille, Alana Navaroli and Mallorie Olin also departing.
But Kyla Sears, one of the top sophomore talents in the nation, is back, as is a strong returning group that includes Hannah Powers, Elizabeth Lane, Hannah Logan, Tate Green, Bella Falcone and Catie Woodruff, so a fourth state title under the tutelage of head coach Bridget Marquardt remains the top priority.
In last Tuesday night’s season opener, the Lakers hosted Webster Thomas (Section V), and it didn’t prove that easy, the Titans staying close until an outburst early in the second half allowed Skaneateles to take control and cruise to an 18-11 victory.
Sears and Logan got it going with back-to-back goals in the game’s first 90 seconds. Powers then scored twice to make it 4-0 before Thomas got on the board, trading goals with the Lakers (Powers added two more to her total) to send the score to 7-3.
Then, in the last minute of the half, the Titans won a series of draws and charged through a still-developing Skaneateles defense to net three straight goals, cutting the Lakers’ margin to just one, 7-6, as they went to the break.
But that only seemed to make Skaneateles angry. Within 49 seconds of the second half, Sears had twice found the net, and then she scored again, with Powers tacking on a fifth goal that created an 11-6 margin, erasing the run Thomas made at the end of the first half.
From there, the Titans were unable to recover. Unstoppable throughout the game, Sears and Powers finished with seven goals and two assists apiece, while Lane also had two assists. Woodruff, Logan, Sophie Kush and Makena Gorman had the other goals.
Two new goalies, Emily Baldwin and Allison Weiss, split time in the net as they attempt to succeed Olin. Combined, the pair had 14 saves.
Early this week, the Lakers travel to Long Island to face reigning state Class B champion Manhasset and Garden City, winner of a record 11 state titles, on back-to-back days before returning home Friday to face Bishop Ludden-Bishop Grimes.
