For the second time in as many Tuesday nights, the Skaneateles girls soccer team went up against a Class B powerhouse and long-time rival, and just could not get anything going to consider the possibility of an upset.
Marcellus had provided the opposition on Sept. 13 and won, 2-0. Now, it was state no. 2-ranked Westhill visiting Hyatt Stadium and asserting itself long before halftime in the course of handing the Lakers a 4-0 defeat.
Having needed overtime to win its only regular-season meeting with Marcellus the week before, the Warriors didn’t want any kind of drama here. So it locked down on defense, thwarting every possible Skaneateles charge while, at the same time, building a 3-0 edge on the Lakers before intermission.
It began at the nine-minute mark when a long Westhill throw got headed in by Megan O’Reilly. Then the Warriors kept probing until Erin McMullen, who netted a hat trick in that Marcellus game on her birthday, converted in the 31st minute, and Erica Gangemi added a goal right before halftime.
Skaneateles goalie Grace Kush finished with six saves, but had to watch as Katelyn Karleski netted yet another Warriors goal in the 51st minute, and then let its defense do the rest, the Lakers unable to solve Westhill netminder Bella Lavigne, who earned five saves.
Two nights later, Skaneateles visited Cazenovia, with the Laker duel given a twist by the fact that Cazenovia’s head coach Kaleen Sessler gave berth to a baby boy on Sept. 17, leaving assistants Kara Falso and Patrick Kelleher to coach the team while Sessler rests.
Cazenovia had gone 1-1 without Sessler at the helm, falling to Clinton before beating Chittenango 4-1 right before Westhill arrived at the Sean Googin Sports Complex. And Skaneateles would add to Cazenovia’s defeat total after it prevailed in a tough 2-1 decision.
For most of the game, Skaneateles found itself running toward Cazenovia’s end, and goalie Hannah Matteson found herself constantly pressured by the fast group of Skaneateles attackers.
Somehow, Matteson managed to record 14 saves, which kept the game within reach. All that Cazenovia could manage, though, was an unassisted goal by Saige Ackermann, which didn’t prove enough. Skaneateles won it by having Raenah Campbell and Maddie Peterson earn goals as Grace Kush and Mae McGlynn picked up assists.
When that was done, the Lakers turned its attention to Tuesday’s home game against Pulaski and a tougher test Thursday at Chittenango.
