All seemed fine with the Skaneateles girls lacrosse team early in the second half of last Thursday night’s game with Marcellus at Hyatt Stadium.
Again, the two long-time rivals were battling it out and, again, the Lakers were getting the best of it. Between a tough, effective defense and timely scoring, the hosts were doing everything well, led by five and were on the way to disappointing the Mustangs the way it had so many times before.
Except that, this time around, something different happened. Skaneateles went cold and Marcellus, showing a resilience rarely shown in past meetings, made it all the way back to stun the Lakers 8-7.
Just as when they played in 2016, Marcellus didn’t have to worry about the presence of injured Skaneateles star Kyla Sears. For a while, that didn’t make a difference as the Lakers controlled the ball, defended when it needed to and built a 6-2 advantage by intermission.
A Skaneateles goal early in the second half stretched the margin to 7-2. By that point, Mae McGlynn had a three-goal hat trick, while Sophie Kush owned a pair of goals. Olivia Navaroli and Riley Brogan both had two assists as Navaroli and Jessica Patalino had single goals.
Yet that was all the Mustangs would allow. From there, Marcellus frustrated the Lakers, waiting for its attack to reward that work – which it did.
Six unanswered goals put Marcellus in front to stay. Maddie Conklin, Katherine Locastro and Colette Rigas each scored twice, with Conklin and Locastro adding assists. Grace Coon and Abby Vetsch earned the other goals.
The Lakers started this important stretch last Tuesday with a visit to Jordan-Elbridge, where a combination of strong defense in the early going and a potent, diverse attack in the late going helped conquer the Eagles 16-9.
During the early stages, Skaneateles got the tempo it wanted, Olivia Navaroli winning draws and then joining her teammates in a patient attack that converted often while its defense was sensational, holding a high-scoring J-E roster (it had not scored less than 14 goals in any game this season) to just two goals in the first half.
When the pace picked up in the second half, the Lakers were ready for it, and would outscore the Eagles 10-7 the rest of the way. Navaroli, aside from her duties in the draw circle, led the Lakers with five goals and one assist.
McGlynn and Abby Kuhns each scored three times, with Brogan gaining two goals and two assists and Kush also scoring twice. Grace Dower had the other goal as Antonia Malvaso led J-E with four goals. Alexis Fietta and Miranda Malvaso got two goals apiece.
What followed against Marcellus may have produced a lingering effect, for when Skaneateles went to Mike Messere Field Saturday to face West Genesee, it could not overcome a mid-game slump in a 9-7 defeat to the Wildcats.
Only trailing by one, 4-3, in the last minute of the first half, the Lakers saw the deficit double on Mackenzie Baker’s goal. Then, early in the second half, Skaneateles was shut out for a long stretch as Adrianna Nojaim, Catherine Farrell, and Cecilia Procopio all found the net to make it 8-3.
Right to the end, the Lakers worked hard, but the deficit was too great to overcome. Abby Logan finished with two goals and one assist, with McGlynn also scoring twice as Navaroli, Kush and Kuhns notched one goal apiece.
This tough opening stretch left Skaneateles at 3-4 going into Monday’s game against Victor (Section V), the prelude to a much bigger game on Wednesday against Westhill.
