If it’s a new era for Fayetteville-Manlius girls lacrosse, then it looks quite familiar to a previous era – at least on the sidelines, anyway.
When the Hornets sought a new head coach after the 2016 season, they settled on a tandem familiar to all F-M fans – Kelly Tormey and Kristen Taylor, the sister combination that helped the program to back-to-back state championships in 2004 and 2005 under the tutelage of their mother, Kathy Taylor, now the coach at Le Moyne College.
Their presence has led to an increased energy level among F-M players eager to come back to the top of the ranks after a decade of seeing the likes of West Genesee, Baldwinsville and CBA take their turns claiming titles.
It sure started well for the Hornets, who withstood rain and cold temperatures last Friday night to dominate Friday night’s season opener against Bethlehem (Section II), defeating the Eagles 20-5.
During a productive first half, F-M attacked and converted nearly at will, steadily building a 12-3 margin, and kept on going even after the game went to a running clock in the second half.
Amanda Cramer led the charge, scoring six times, while Gemma Addonizio finished with four goals. Kiera Shanley was close behind, earning three goals and one assist, while Kiera Shanley piled up five assists to go with her lone goal.
In all, nine different F-M players found the net. Sydney DeGirolamo earned two goals, with Jane Cote, Maya Chiesa, Madeline Noel and Allison Macrae joining Kiera Shanley earning single goals.
Down the road at Jamesville-DeWitt, the only change the Red Rams want to see is to take it one step further and earn a sectional title after dropping last year’s Class B final to Watertown.
And the Red Rams took an impressive first step in Saturday’s season opener against Cazenovia, using a first-half scoring blitz to pull away from the Lakers and eventually prevail 13-6.
In the game played at Cazenovia College’s Christakos Field, J-D trailed, 2-1, early in the first half, only to take over by netting seven straight goals and blanking the Lakers for more than 16 minutes.
Cazenovia did score twice late in the half to make it 8-4 at the break, but the Rams’ defense was effective the rest of the way, only surrendering two goals as the margin nearly doubled.
Lizzie O’Brien led J-D’s attack with four goals, with Katie Lutz scoring three times and adding an assist. Jill Ravasi and Lindsay MacLachlan had two goals apiece as Ana Dieroff had one goal and one assist. Bess Murad had the other goal, with Riley Burns gaining a pair of assists.
Back on Friday night, East Syracuse Minoa opened its season at home against Cortland, but struggled to get much going in the second half of a 12-5 loss to the Purple Tigers.
Despite some early production, the Spartans trailed 8-4 at halftime and converted just once after the break. Only Olivia McEachron scored twice, adding an assist as single goals went to Brigid McGinley, Sophia Orlando and Bella Talarico.
Cara Miller finished with six saves, but fell victim to a well-balanced Cortland attack where Margaret Reagan, Grace Call and Logan Chase each got three goals, Reagan adding three assists as Kathleen Starr and Hannah Partigianoni earned two goals apiece.
