One big highlight of the Fayetteville-Manlius field hockey team’s regular-season schedule was last Tuesday night’s visit from Cazenovia, winner of a remarkable 10 consecutive Section III championships, with a pair of state titles thrown in for good measure.
This match between two reigning sectional champions had a lot of potential – but in reality, it completely belonged to the Lakers, who displayed its dynastic form in the course of defeating the Hornets by a 5-0 margin.
Nearly two weeks earlier, Cazenovia had taken a 5-1 loss to Baldwinsville at its home field at Burton Street Elementary. That seemed far away, though, as the Lakers steadily attacked F-M and built a 3-0 advantage by halftime.
Adding to that margin in the late going, Cazenovia saw star junior Zoe Shephard pick up two goals and one assist, with Molly LaHart also scoring twice. Caeli Carroll earned the other goal and Mikaylee Whalen got two assists.
It wasn’t that the Hornets were denied any chances of its own. In fact, F-M took nine shots, but Cazenovia goalie Shea Flannery stopped all of them. Hornets goalie Catherine Barr finished with four saves.
Meanwhile, East Syracuse Minoa began its week by hosting Weedsport, the defending sectional Class D champions, last Monday night. It was tight for a while, but a big second half helped the Warriors conquer the Spartans 3-1.
Emma Schafer’s first-half goal, assisted by Gillianne McCarthy, helped forge a 1-1 tie going into intermission. Then Weedsport broke out late, overcoming Cory Palmer’s nine saves by having Jeslyn Files score twice and Ashley Wightman add a goal. Also, Nicole Soutar was superb, stopping 10 of the 11 ESM shots she faced.
Three days later, the Spartans faced another challenge at Port Byron, a team that beat Weedsport earlier this season. The Panthers would top the Spartans, too, in a 2-0 decision where goals by Jenna Weston and Bri Tonzi made the difference. Palmer finished with four saves.
The loss dropped ESM’s record to 3-3 as it looked ahead to Tuesday’s game against Auburn and a Saturday non-league road test at Liverpool. F-M had a game Monday at Rome Free Academy before hosting Cicero-North Syracuse Thursday night.
