For nearly three weeks, Kyla Sears had to watch her Skaneateles girls lacrosse teammates navigate a brutal early schedule, meeting with an equal measure of success and setbacks.
By the time Sears got on the field again for last Wednesday’s game against Westhill at Hyatt Stadium, her presence was needed – and quite welcome, especially when the Lakers made a stirring second-half comeback to beat the Warriors 12-8.
Entering the game, Skaneateles was no. 6 in the state Class D rankings, an acknowledgement of both the opponents it faced and the fact that it was short-handed through most of those games, including tough losses to Marcellus and West Genesee the week before.
Westhill, meanwhile, was 3-2, but held the no. 8 state Class D ranking, and had just played back-to-back games against Class A powers Cicero-North Syracuse and CBA, both ranked in the state Class top five, with the reigning state champion Brothers on top.
So the Warriors weren’t in any way intimidated, even with Sears working her way back into full game shape. Throughout the first half, neither side could separate, and it was tied, 5-5, when Westhill surged early in the second half with three straight goals.
It was also a deep, well-balanced attack, with only Erin McMullen and Haileigh Farrell scoring twice. Single goals went to Abby Stack, Caroline Miller, Reilly Geer and Rebecca Gilhooley, with Sam VanBuren joining Geer in the assist column.
However, Skaneateles started to dominate in the draw circle down the stretch, and with those extra possessions wore down Westhill’s defense, earning seven unanswered goals to erase that 8-5 deficit.
Sears made her return a memorable one, earning four goals and one assist to help out freshman Riley Brogan, who led the Lakers with five goals. Olivia Navaroli, Mae McGlynn and Jessica Patalino had the other goals.
