If the Skaneateles girls lacrosse team accomplished all that it wanted to accomplish, by the time the first weekend in May was done, it would hold a legitimate claim as the best side in Central New York.
Already with a win over Cicero-North Syracuse tucked away, the Lakers would go to Alibrandi Stadium last Wednesday night to face Christian Brothers Academy and then, on Saturday night, take the measure of reigning state Class A champion West Genesee, who sat atop the latest state rankings.
This “Triple Crown” quest, which ironically would finish on the same day the Kentucky Derby was run, was derailed by CBA, who combined timely goals with stifling defense to defeat Skaneateles by an 11-8 margin.
Somehow, the Lakers rebounded and, when it went to Camillus, played a near-perfect second half against West Genesee, and the end result was a satisfying 11-9 victory over the Wildcats.
All through the early stages against WG, Skaneateles stayed patient with the ball, especially Kyla Sears, who ignored the defensive attention thrown on her to get an early goal and assist on Hannah Logan’s tally.
Trailing 3-2, the Lakers tied it on Catie Woodruff’s goal, only to see WG appear to take control in the last minutes of the first half with a 4-1 run, with two goals from Kyra Bednarski and one each from Grace Osterdale and Nikki Delaney.
Thus, when it went to the break, the Lakers were behind, 7-4. But early in the second half, Skaneateles started to win the draws and ground balls, causing frustration and fouls from the Wildcats in retaliation.
The Lakers closed the gap to 8-7 before Mackenzie Baker’s goals with 15:45 left. That would be WG’s last tally of the night, as Elizabeth Lane, Tate Green, Lauren Goodchild, Emmeline Graham, Isabella Falcone and the rest of the Lakers’ defense played at its best down the stretch.
Meanwhile, Skaneateles maintained its poise on the attack, waiting for the right moments and then converting to tie it, 9-9, before Hannah Logan’s goal with less than 10 minutes left gave the Lakers the lead for good.
A Wildcat turnover and insurance goal followed, and Skaneateles was successful in burning off most of the remaining clock, forcing WG to commit more fouls and finish the game with an accumulation of yellow cards.
Despite all the attention on her, Sears still managed five goals and two assists. Logan scored twice, with Hannah Powers and Makena Gorman each getting one goal and one assist. Abby Kuhns and Catie Woodruff also had goals, with Green and Molly Newton adding assists.
All of this followed the loss to CBA. Just a few years ago, Skaneateles and CBA were both in Class C, knowing that their inevitable post-season showdowns would send someone toward a possible state championship. Now, though, the Brothers have jumped up all the way to Class A, but the rivalry remains a strong one.
CBA didn’t flinch once as the Lakers kept taking the lead throughout the first half. Late in the first half, Emily Ehle scored off a feed from Rachel Vercillo to put CBA in front 5-4. But Skaneateles countered with Logan netting two goals 14 seconds apart, and the Lakers took a 6-5 lead to the break.
The Lakers’ second-half lead asted all of 38 seconds before Ehle netted her second goal, again assisted by Vercillo, and Sam McKenna, who had three goals on the night, scored three minutes later to put CBA ahead – for keeps, as it turned out.
That was because the Brothers’ defense was keying in on Powers and Bailey Herr, and would hold them to one goal apiece. Thus, the production of Sears, who had four goals and one assist, didn’t hurt too much.
In fact, when Sears netted that fourth goal with 14:37 left to cut CBA’s lead to one, 9-8, it would be the last Skaneateles goal of the night – ironic, given that a similar thing would happen at West Genesee three nights later, only with the Lakers in the role of stopper.
CBA’s defenders frustrated Skaneateles the rest of the way, and it would possess the ball well, too. Meredith Strott and Maddie Cook scored to extend the Brothers’ margin as, throughout the game’s last 10 minutes, it deftly held on to the ball and kept it in the Skaneateles end, using that long possession time to deftly protect its margin.
The only interlude in this gauntlet was last Monday night’s 19-1 rout over Onondaga, where the Lakers had an 11-1 edge by halftime and tried to space out the minutes for its top players, given the big games that lay ahead.
Still, Sears had four goals and three assists, with Gorman scoring three times. Powers and Herr both had two goals and four assists as Kuhns also scored twice. Goodchild, Woodruff, Falcone, Hannah Logan, Abby Logan, Catie Woodruff and Mae McGlynn got one goal apiece.
