All of the early work done by the Cicero-North Syracuse girls lacrosse team had a purpose – to gain confidence and momentum, plus a series of wins, before its initial confrontation with reigning Section III Class A champion West Genesee on Tuesday night.
And this included last Thursday’s visit to rival Liverpool, a game that was quite competitive in the latter stages – but only after a first half that completely belonged to the Northstars and set the tone for a 15-6 victory over the Warriors.
Throughout the first half, Liverpool’s main problem was that it couldn’t get possession. C-NS controlled draws and made the Warriors’ defense work through most of those 25 minutes, leading to a steady diet of goals and a 9-1 margin at the break.
Finally, Liverpool settled into a better groove in the second half, but it proved too late. At its forefront, the Northstars got six points apiece from Meghan Duffy and Samantha Tortora as Duffy got four goals and two assists, with Tortora contributing three goals and three assists.
Not far behind them, Bryar Cummings and Olivia Africa each scored twice, with Cummings contributing a pair of assists. Megan Tryniski got one goal and one assist as Jessica Meneilly and Makena Scarlata also earned goals.
Liverpool, for its part, saw six different players earn its six goals. Maia Henry, Brittany Halpin, Julia Sardella, Maggie Tassone, Krystyna Sterio and Veronica Brancato each found the net, with Cassidy Hall joining Tassone in the assist column.
Already with a 4-0 mark, the Northstars made it five in a row last Tuesday at Bragman Stadium, welcoming Baldwinsville and using constant attacks to wear down the Bees, prevailing by a 13-5 margin.
This was the last time B’ville would visit under the direction of long-time head coach Doug Rowe, who has said that this, his 25th season at the Bees’ helm, would be his last. If C-NS, who had battled the Bees so much at the top of the sectional ranks, showed any sentimentality, it did a good job hiding it.
Relentless in its approach, the Northstars led 7-2 by halftime and never let the Bees find any sort of rhythm. In fact, other than Glory Johnson, who had three goals and one assist, the entire B’ville squad had just two goals.
Meghan Duffy doubled that total by herself, her four goals adding to her total of more than 300 career points (a milestone she passed April 9 during a win over Webster Thomas), while Cummings had three goals and one assist, and Samantha Tortora gained two goals and three assists.
Africa, Meneilly, Tryniski and Scarlata each had one goal, with Brenna Duffy adding an assist. Lauren Gilbert was superb in the net, too, stopping eight of the 13 shots she faced.
With that, plus the win over Liverpool, the Northstars were still unblemished when it went west to face Section V power Pittsford on Saturday afternoon – but it was here that C-NS took its first blemish of the season, falling to the Panthers10-7.
All went fairly well in the first half, with C-NS playing Pittsford (winners of the last two Section V Class A titles) to a 4-4 draw. But while the Northstars could never get its attack going, the Panthers did so, and got away.
This happened despite Duffy’s three goals and one assist and Tortora’s three assists. Cummings had two goals as Tryniski and Mallory Eymer had the other goals.
Before the loss to C-NS, Liverpool defeated Auburn 11-7, working its way to a 6-3 halftime lead and maintaining that margin in the face of several Maroons comeback attempts while seeing seven different players record a goal.
Sardella found the net three times for a hat trick, adding an assist. Sterio and Halpin each had two goals, while Hall earned one goal and one assist. Tassone, Brancato and Kate Salanger also earned goals.
Then, on Saturday, Liverpool faced Syracuse in the TeamMolley game, benefiting cancer research, The Warriors rolled to an 18-4 victory as seven different players produced multiple goals in a well-balanced attack.
Halpin and Sterio led the way, each scoring three times. Sardella had two goals and two assists as Henry, Brancato and Mallory Fitzpatrick all finished with two goals and one assist. Abby Hope also found the net twice. Salanger and Maddie Guard earned single goals.
