Just about anything the Skaneateles girls lacrosse team did the rest of the regular season would pale next to those wins over Cicero-North Syracuse on April 25 and West Genesee on May 1, with a near-miss against Christian Brothers Academy in between.
That 2-1 run through the gauntlet of three of the top four-ranked state Class A sides (WG is no. 1, CBA no. 2 and C-NS no. 4) pushed the Lakers up to no.2 in the latest state Class C rankings, behind only Mount Sinai.
Now the main task for Skaneateles was to avoid any kind of complacency before this week’s start of the Section III Class C playoffs, and that didn’t prove too difficult.
Hosting LaFayette last Tuesday afternoon at Hyatt Stadium, the Lakers got another star turn from attacker Hannah Powers and cruised to a 21-8 victory over the Lancers.
Despite some defensive lapses in the first half, Skaneateles covered them up by scoring at will against an overmatched LaFayette resistance, eventually building a 15-6 lead.
From there, the Lakers rolled as Powers hit double digits in points, earning six goals and four assists, and Kyla Sears wasn’t quiet, either, scoring four times and adding a pair of assists.
Bailey Herr, shut out at West Genesee in her previous game, got three goals on this day, as did Hannah Logan, while Makena Gorman had two goals and one assist. Molly Newton had a goal and three assists as Abby Logan and Tate Green also scored and Catie Woodruff contributed an assist.
In Thursday’s game against Tully, the Lakers’ defense struggled, but its abundant production made up for those struggles and led to an 18-9 victory over the Black Knights.
Led by Erynn McNerney (who had four goals and two assists) and Madison Lyon (who finished with three goals), Tully was within range, 11-6, at the end of a wild first half, but the pace, and the heat, took a toll on the Black Knights, allowing the well-conditioned Lakers to get away.
Sears found the net seven times, adding an assist. Herr, Gorman and Newton got two goals apiece, with Herr contributing a pair of assists. Powers got held to one goal and one assist, with Logan getting a goal and two assists. Green, Sophie Kush and Mae McGlynn also found the net.
Westhill, no. 11 in the state Class C rankings, visited Skaneateles on Friday night right after it took a 15-11 defeat to no. 8-ranked Marcellus (who gave coach Dick Lunbdlad his 200th career win) back on Monday.
That game against the Mustangs was tame, though, compared to what the Lakers did to Westhill in a 23-9 victory. Again, the first half saw a barrage of goals, but Skaneateles withstood it to grab a 13-7 lead before a second-half romp that featured double-digit tallies again for the hosts.
When Sears scored eight goals, it gave her 19 goals for the week, and she also got three assists. Powers poured in six goals and three assists, with Logan also nabbing three goals. Herr, Kush, McGlynn and Woodruff had the other goals, with assists credited to Green and Kuhns.
Games against Jordan-Elbridge and Cazenovia next week close out the regular season for the Lakers, with the Section III playoffs and a defense of its 2014 state title still looming ahead.
