Before it pursued the main contenders in Class A, the Liverpool girls lacrosse team first had a trio of home tune-ups against outside foes, neither of which would get close to the Warriors or cause any sort of stress.
Liverpool faced Vernon-Verona-Sherrill in last Tuesday night’s season opener, and didn’t allow a goal until the second half, by which point things were well in hand and the Warriors were rolling to a 17-2 victory over the Blue Devils.
Throughout the early stages, Liverpool claimed draws and worked the ball around, waiting until the right moments to shoot and convert. That translated into a 10-0 advantage on VVS and a running clock during the second half, though the margin kept growing.
Julia Sardella and Marissa Madonna both finished with five goals, Sardella adding a pair of assists. Krystyna Sterio scored four times in her varsity debut, while Cassidy Hall notched three goals and one assist.
Offering timely passes, Brittany Halpin picked up three assists, while Maggie Tassone earned two assists. Maia Henry, Abby Hope and Veronica Brancato gained one goal apiece.
It promised to get more challenging Thursday night, when Carthage paid a visit to LHS Stadium. And indeed it was a closer game, but the fact that the Warriors established an early margin made quite a difference as it held off the Comets 12-8.
Though Carthage doubled the VVS total in the first half, it still wasn’t enough to keep Liverpool from gaining a 7-4 edge. Then it made sure every Comets push was matched by a Warriors goal as eight different players found the net by night’s end.
Tassone led with three goals, while Sardella and Sterio had two goals apiece. Halpin earned four assists to give her seven for the week as she joined Henry, Kate Salanger and Maddie Guard earning single goals.
Hall and Maddie Fitzpatrick had one assist apiece. Madonna finished with seven saves as Morgan Paige (three goals) and Peyton Romig (two goals, one assist) paced Carthage’s efforts.
Going for three in a row against the combined Bishop Ludden-Bishop Grimes side on Saturday afternoon, the Warriors had to again fight hard for it, but reserved enough energy to push its way to a 9-7 victory.
Liverpool did much of its damage early, gaining a 7-2 lead by halftime. It held on thanks to a defense that absorbed some late surges from Ludden-Grimes, who was led by Molly McInerney’s four goals, but made enough stops when it mattered as Madonna picked up eight saves.
The Warriors’ attack was well-balanced, with seven different goal-scorers. Only Sardella and Hall scored twice, with Fitzpatrick, Henry, Sterio, Brancato and Guard picking up one goal apiece. Halpin contributed a pair of assists.
While nowhere as busy as Liverpool was, Cicero-North Syracuse took full advantage of its lone game action last week, getting an early challenge from Marcellus last Friday at Bragman Stadium before dominating the second half and routing the Mustangs 18-8.
The Northstars sprinted out to a 5-0 lead in the early stages, but still felt wary because, in its March 26 season opener, it had built a big lead on South Jefferson, only to see the Spartans rally and force overtime before C-NS pulled it out.
Here, Marcellus threatened to do the same, roaring back within one, 6-5, late in the first half. Right before the break, though, reserve Makena Scarlata hit on back-to-back goals less than 30 seconds apart, giving her team a cushion and, more importantly, momentum it never gave back.
Gradually, C-NS wore down Marcellus during its decisive 9-2 push in the second half, seeing seven different players pick up multiple goals.
Scarlata and Bryar Cumming each scored three times, with Cummings adding two assists. Meghan Duffy had four assists to go with her pair of goals as Samantha Tortora got two goals and two assists.
Brenna Duffy, Olivia Africa and Mallory Eymer got two goals apiece. Julia Alberici and Jessica Meneilly also found the net, with Alberci adding two assists and Megan Tryniski one assist.
