For many different reasons, the Skaneateles girls lacrosse team was happy to reach the Section III Class C playoffs.
Some of it had to do with the brutal difficulty of the Lakers’ regular-season schedule. It also had to do with the struggles faced during those games, ones that weren’t anticipated when they were scheduled before Kyla Sears’ torn ACL that sidelined her for the spring.
From an immediate standpoint, though, the relief came from the fact that Skaneateles could rest a bit in the wake of last Wednesday’s marathon against Section V Penfield, which dragged to four overtimes before the Lakers lost, 8-7, to the Patriots.
That it even got to that point was a tribute to the Lakers’ resilience. A poor first half allowed Penfield to double up Skaneateles and lead, 6-3, but then, led by defenders Bella Falcone and Lauren Goodchild, the Lakers held the Patriots to just one goal for the rest of regulation.
Skaneateles caught up, tying it 7-7 as Mae McGlynn notched a three-goal hat trick, with Molly Newton adding a goal and two assists. Emma Goodell and Hannah Logan each had one goal and one assist as Abby Kuhns also scored. Sophie Kush and Olivia Navaroli contributed assists, too.
Now the two sides went to overtime. Through one extra period, then a second, and then a third, Skaneateles and Penfield missed chances to win it.
Finally, in the fourth extra session (the longest game any Section III girls lacrosse team has played this season), the Patriots’ Emily Goebel sent a shot into the net to help her team prevail. Prior to that, Allison Weiss and Emily Baldwin had combined for eight saves.
If there were any bad feelings about that defeat, they were instantly erased when the sectional Class C playoff bracket came out.
Using power rankings, the Lakers still got the no. 2 seed in a 14-team field, meaning that it had a first-round bye, along with top seed Westhill. Everyone else had to go through an opening-round game.
Thus, the Lakers could get some much-needed rest and prepare for Tuesday’s quarterfinal at Holland Stadium against no. 7 seed Tully, who beat no. 10 seed Bishop Ludden-Bishop Grimes 12-6 in the opening round, with the winner going to Thursday’s semifinal at Liverpool High School Stadium against South Jefferson or Jordan-Elbridge. The final is Tuesday, May 31 at 6 p.m. at the Carrier Dome.
