On the one hand, the Cazenovia girls lacrosse team had to feel some excitement going into last Tuesday’s game at Marcellus, for it was now facing a Mustangs side that had just ascended to the top of the state Class D rankings.
But on the other hand, there was a reason why Marcellus was at no. 1, and the Lakers found out that reason as it got overwhelmed from start to finish by the Mustangs and ultimately took a 19-2 loss.
The main problem for the Lakers was that it could not win any draws in the game’s early stages. Consequently, Marcellus could stay patient with its attack and surgically deliver goals, one at a time.
When it got to 7-0, Cazenovia took a time-out, but the Mustangs kept adding to the margin, ultimately making it 11-0 at halftime. With a running clock in the second half, the Lakers did get goals from Chloe Willard and Grace Rajkowski to break up the shutout.
On the Mustangs’ side, there was plenty of variety in its attack. Abby Vetsch, with five goals and one assist, and Maddie Conklin, with four goals and three assists, led the way as Grace Coon also scored four times. Katherine Locastro and Colette Rigas had two goals apiece, with Locastro adding three assists as Anna Vetsch got one goal and two assists.
Chittenango had its own struggles during the week, starting with last Tuesday’s 15-8 defeat to Bishop Ludden-Bishop Grimes. For a half, the Bears were in the fight, only trailing 4-3 at the break before Ludden-Grimes got away behind seven goals and one assist from Molly McInerney.
Kaiden Williams carried the Bears’ attack, scoring four times and tacking on a pair of assists. Tiffany Scofield and Maddie Flack had two goals apiece, with Scofield adding an assist. Hailee Watt made 11 saves as Rhonee Shea Pal, with three goals and one assist, gave McInerney some support.
What followed, on Thursday afternoon, was a 12-5 defeat to Onondaga where the Bears just could not generate a consistent attack, falling behind 6-3 by halftime. The Tigers pulled away despite Flack’s three-goal hat trick as Williams and Scofield earned the other goals. Watt had five saves.
The skid ended on Saturday, though, as Chittenango defeated Oswego 11-7. The key was fast starts to each half as, in the opening minutes, Flack scored twice and Alsysa Frantz added a goal to create a 3-0 lead.
Yet even with two more goals, the Bears saw the Buccaneers pull even, 5-5, by halftime, with Clara Culeton’s goal right before the horn tying it up. Angry with that, Chittenango regained control with Kaiden Williams scoring and back-to-back goals from Juila Pynn before Taylor Glazier scored to make it 9-5.
The Bears’ defense blanked Oswego for more than 12 minutes before Culeton’s goal made it 9-6, but Pynn tacked on a third goal for a hat trick and Glazier netted her third goal in the closing stretch to put the game away. With the win, the Bears improved to 3-8 as it will take on Cazenovia Friday night at the Sean Googin Sports Complex.
