Soon enough, the familiar feeling of post-season pressure will grip the Fayetteville-Manlius girls lacrosse team, even if the setting – Class B, rather than the Class A it was part of for decades – is quite unfamiliar.
Still, the state no. 6-ranked Hornets are ready for it, especially after a season full of tough games, mostly against Class A foes, and a fair amount of conquests among them, including a sweep of Liverpool.
F-M’s 20-6 victory over the Warriors last Thursday night represented a second consecutive impressive home effort by the Hornets following back-to-back defeats at Skaneateles and West Genesee.
Already with a 9-3 halftime lead, F-M kept pulling further away as Allison Macrae and Madeline Noel both stepped up, each of them scoring four times and tacking on two assists to lead a deeper, more versatile attack.
Jane Cote, Gemma Addonizio and Annie Steigerwald had their own three-goal hat tricks, with Cote tacking on two assists. Katie Shanley got four assists as Kaylee Steigerwald earned two assists and Maya Chiesa added a goal.
Two nights later, at Bragman Stadium, F-M faced a Cicero-North Syracuse side it beat 13-8 two weeks earlier at home. Here, the margin was nearly the same, but the Hornets proved even more potent as it again topped the Northstars, this one a 16-10 decision.
For a while, C-NS would keep pace, only trailing 7-5 at halftime, but F-M got away with a multi-pronged attack that had five different players score more than once, led by Amanda Cramer, who emerged with five goals and one assist, and Kiera Shanley, who had three goals and one assist.
Just behind them, Cote and Addonizio both got two goals and two assists, with Noel also finding the net twice. Kaylee Steigerwald had two assists and Annie Steigerwald got a goal, as did Macrae.
By contrast, the Northstars didn’t get much from anyone other than Jessica Meneilly, who poured in seven goals. Makena Scarlata did get two goals and one assist, while Alberici had the other goal. Duffy earned three assists and Olivia Massena got two assists.
This 3-0 week for the Hornets concluded Saturday with a 19-8 win over South Jefferson, who is ranked in the state Class D top 10, but could not contain F-M’s attack as it bolted out to a 10-3 advantage by halftime. Cramer, with her seven goals, had gathered 12 between this game and the win over C-NS, while Addonizio poured in five goals.
Cote and Katie Shanley both got three assists as Kiera Shanley had three goals and two assists. Macrae and Kaylee Steigerwald each had two assists as Noel, Sidney DeGirolamo and Annie Steigerwald joined Cote with single goals. Combined, Elizabeth Brady and Maria Angello made eight saves.
