While the achievement of 11 consecutive Section III championships was enormous, the Cazenovia field hockey team’s real aim was to add a third state title to the two it already possessed.
Two of the last three years, the Lakers made it to the state finals, only to get stopped – by Pierson/Bridgehampton in 2013, and by Whitney Point a season ago.
In order to return to the state final four at Maine-Endwell, Cazenovia had to make it past Section V champion East Rochester in Saturday’s Class C regional final at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium.
And while it proved frustrating and a little nervous at times, the Lakers’ essential control of the game never changed, and eventually produced a 2-1 victory over the Bombers for the regional championship.
East Rochester, a perennial power and 2015 state semifinalist, appeared to offer a substantial challenge. To meet it, Cazenovia wanted the same kind of quick start that had worked for them in both the sectional final against Holland Patent (a 5-2 win) and the state qualifier against Weedsport (a 3-0 win) earlier in the week.
That meant getting on the board in the opening minutes, and it took just 3:34 for the Lakers to get a 1-0 lead, a penalty corner leading to Zoe Shephard gaining possession at the point and tearing through Bombers defenders before putting the ball past East Rochester goalie Alli Reynolds.
From there, Cazenovia kept the ball in the Bombers’ end for most of the first half, yet were unable to follow up on Shephard’s goal. Even as the accumulated possession time wore on East Rochester’s resistance, it kept the game at 1-0 going to halftime.
“We kind of stepped back, and they (East Rochester) were good defensively,” said Cazenovia head coach Lorraine Scheftic. “It takes a toll on you.”
The Lakers could not take any lead for granted since the Bombers, in their rare counter-attacks, earned a pair of penalty corners, even though Sam Morgan, Delaney Yates, Kathryn Kielbasinski and Lizzy Shephard held East Rochester without a shot on goal in the first half.
All through the early part of the second half, the pattern held, Cazenovia applying lots of pressure and getting nothing out of it. East Rochester didn’t get a shot until the midway point – but it turned into a tying goal when Ali Burns converted with 15:41 left.
In doing so, the Bombers took full advantage of Shephard having to leave the field for an equipment adjustment. When she returned, so did the Lakers’ possession game, along with extra urgency.
Angry at getting caught, Cazenovia needed just four minutes to go back in front for good, an attack leading to Janie Kempf taking a pass from Caeli Carroll and putting home the go-ahead goal.
“There was a lot of adrenaline in that moment,” said Kempf. “But when you get that goal, it’s the best feeling in the world.”
Over the last 11-plus minutes, the Lakers turned back anything East Rochester tried, not allowing a penalty corner and, in the process, securing another state final four berth.
Next Saturday at 4 p.m. at Maine-Endwell High School, Cazenovia will face Bronxville (Section I) in the state semifinals, with the winner advancing to next Sunday’s state final at 3 p.m. against Whitney Point or Carle Place.
Scheftic said that, in the week leading up to the state final four, her team will work the most on “support passing”, moving around the ball in a more fluid fashion since opposing defenses will continue to key on Zoe Shephard.
