That winter snowstorm, combined with cold temperatures, lingered beyond the first week of April and caused havoc with high school sports schedules everywhere. Even lacrosse games in some spots were not immune to postponements.
However, Cazenovia’s girls lacrosse team was able to move last Tuesday’s game with Tully to Morrisville State College’s turf field, which was cleared off. Glad to have the opportunity to play, the Lakers endured the chilly conditions and rolled to a 15-5 victory over the Black Knights.
A strong start made all the difference. It wasn’t until late in the first half that Tully got on the board and, by that point, Cazenovia owned a comfortable advantage.
Following Zoe Shephard’s opening tally, Paige Nardella hit on back-to-back goals and Lucy Connor converted, all in a span of two minutes, 27 seconds. Then Chloe Willard took her turn finding the net before Keara Dwyer scored twice in a row and Connor returned to make it 8-0.
Even when the Black Knights broke up the shutout, it could only cut the margin to 9-3 early in the second half before Connor began another Lakers spurt with her third goal. Dwyer followed by converting for the third and fourth times to make it 12-3 and then got a fifth goal in the late going, to go with a pair of assists.
Connor and Nardella both finished with three goals and one assist. Willard matched that point total with two goals and two assists. Olivia Catania notched a late goal as Sophie Goris stopped 10 of the 15 shots she faced.
Two nights later, Cazenovia faced Onondaga on the turf at Onondaga Community College, and much the same thing happened as a quick start by the Lakers meant a stress-free effort as it eventually beat the Tigers 16-5.
The lone difference between this game and Tully was that Cazenovia was even more potent in the early going, not letting up until it had gained an 11-2 halftime advantage. Once the clock started running in the second half, things eased, but OCS could not make a sustained run.
Combined, Dwyer and Willard found the net 10 times, with Dwyer picking up six goals and one assist and Willard contributing four goals and one assist. Connor, Colby Lucas and Megan Henderson each got one goal and one assist, while Olivia Catania and Emily Mahoney contributed goals. Assists went to Shephard and Mikaylee Whalen.
And it stays busy for Cazenovia with three home games this week, the Lakers meeting Fayetteville-Manlius Monday and Bishop Ludden-Bishop Grimes Wednesday before General Brown visits on Saturday afternoon.
