If the Marcellus girls lacrosse team felt any doubts about its abilities or resilience, those feelings are long gone, even if its good work in the regular season didn’t reflect itself in the eventual Section III Class C playoff bracket.
In the 14-team field, the Mustangs only drew a no. 4 seed, meaning it had to play a first-round game against no. 13 seed Watertown IHC on Friday night. Meanwhile, Westhill ended up with the top seed and a first-round bye, so it would rest until Tuesday’s quarterfinal against no. 8 seed Homer, who edged Chittenango 7-6 in the first round.
Not concerned too much about an extra playoff game, Marcellus routed IHC 19-3, setting a season mark for goals during a decisive first half where it left the Cavaliers far behind them, roaring to a 16-2 lead before resting the starters.
Maddie Conklin, with five goals and two assists, and Grace Coon, who scored four times, led the charge. Abby Vetsch and Lily Powell each had two goals, Vetsch adding two assists. Anna Vetsch, Madison Green and Taylor Reich all got one goal and one assist as Katherine LoCastro, Katy Wangsness and Tekenzie Fey also scored goals.
In the quarterfinal Tuesday night, Marcellus gets no. 5 seed Cazenovia, who beat General Brown 14-7 in its playoff opener, but were routed by the Mustangs 12-2 back on April 21. Quite a turnaround is needed if the Lakers want to keep the Mustangs from a semifinal against Westhill or Homer.
Jordan-Elbridge drew the no. 6 seed and an opening-round game against no. 11 seed Cortland. Though it proved tough at times, the Eagles were up to this initital challenge and eliminated the Purple Tigers 15-9.
Instead of showing post-season nerves, J-E roared out to a 5-1 first-half lead, and may have turned complacent – which allowed Cortland to regroup and, with two goals 15 seconds apart, cut the Eagles’ margin in half.
Gradually, J-E regained the momentum and, up 8-5 at halftime, began the getaway when Marissa Malvaso staged her own surge, scoring twice in a 20-second span. That made it 10-5, and gradually the margin got larger as the Eagles contained Cortland’s top scorer, Shea Swartout throughout the closing stages.
Marissa Malvaso and Alexis Braun both finished with four goals, with Antonia Malvaso adding three goals and one assist. Alexis Switzer scored twice, contributing three assists as Allison Jennings and Miranda Malvaso earned single goals. Emily Kuehnle gained a pair of assists.
J-E earned a trip north, to Adams, to face no. 3 seed South Jefferson in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. A win could get the Eagles into the semifinals against no. 2 seed Skaneateles or no. 7 seed Tully, who in the first round ended the season of Bishop Ludden-Bishop Grimes in a 12-6 decision.
For a while, Ludden-Grimes kept it close, even leading for large portions of the first half before Gemma Guy’s goal at the 13:41 mark put Tully ahead for good. Still, it was just a two-goal game, 5-3, at halftime before the Black Knights wore the visitors down.
Emma Driscoll and Molly McInerney still had two goals apiece, with singles goals going to Sidney Dobbins and Rhonee Shea Pal. Grace Lambrych and Molly McInerney each had one assist. Mackenzie Bolt paced Tully with four goals and one assist.
