Only now, with its reign as Section III Class C champions on the line, would the Skaneateles girls lacrosse team find out if the beating it took all season against the state’s toughest schedule would reap the reward of a banner.
Despite a 9-7 regular-season mark, the Lakers still gained the no. 2 seed for the sectional tournament and a valuable first-round bye. Thus, it was well-rested by the time no. 7 seed Tully arrived at Hyatt Stadium for last Tuesday’s quarterfinal following a first-round win over Bishop Ludden-Bishop Grimes.
Tully, who lost a 15-6 decision back on May 7 on this same turf, didn’t prove an easy foe, but Skaneateles still topped them 11-3, largely on the strength of a defense that, all season, had taken plenty of pressure and had held up well, even in the games the Lakers lost.
Determined to control the game’s pace, the Black Knights held the ball for long stretches. Each time, though, Lauren Goodchild, Tate Green, Bella Falcone, and Aubreah Lynn made Tully work long and hard, and it only managed two goals in the first half and one after the break, the duo of Alison Weiss and Emily Baldwin combining for 11 saves.
It helped, too, that Skaneateles had a productive first half, roaring out to an 8-2 lead so that it didn’t have to do too much on the offensive end in the latter stages.
Bailey Herr, with three goals and one assist, and Catie Woodruff, with two goals and two assists, led the way as Olivia Navaroli, Emma Goodell and Mae McGlynn each scored twice. Molly Newton added two assists as Lynn and Abby Kuhns got one assist apiece.
This set up Thursday’s Class C semifinal at Liverpool High School against no. 3 seed South Jefferson, who had routed Jordan-Elbridge 21-9 in its quarterfinal. It was a rematch of the 2015 title game, but though the stakes were different, the result proved the same, Skaneateles beating the Spartans 15-8.
That there was so many goals surprised those who watched the game from the outset. Defense ruled early, with South Jefferson attempting to slow the tempo down and succeeding to such a degree that neither team got on the board for nearly 11 minutes.
But once Logan broke the ice with her goal at the 10:52 mark, the pace picked up. Sidney Hall got the Spartans on the board, and the Lakers answered with Logan scoring again and then Navaroli and McGlynn finding the net 12 seconds apart.
Woodruff found the net just a minute before halftime to extend the Skaneateles lead to 5-2. Feeding off of that late tally, Newton and Navaroli converted early in the second half, quickly making it 7-2, only to see South Jefferson get goals from Natalie Strough and Hayley McGuire to cut the margin back to three.
That was the jolt the Lakers needed, though, for it proceeded to bury the Spartans with six unanswered goals, two each by Woodruff and Herr, as Navaroli tacked on a third goal, too, and Kuhns made it 14-4 with 6:09 left, sealing it.
And this sets up a potentially epochal sectional Class C final Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome at 6 p.m. It’s Skaneateles against its long-time rival, Marcellus, the no. 4 seed, who upended top seed Westhill 13-7 in the other semifinal and, of course, beat the Lakers in overtime earlier this season.
