On the same Tuesday evening, each of the Cazenovia lacrosse teams would see their seasons end.
For the boys Lakers, its long championship run – it had won Section III titles five of the last six years – halted at East Syracuse Minoa Stadium in the sectional Class D semifinals, where state no. 1-ranked Westhill beat them 15-8.
They had played twice in the regular season. The Warriors won a close 8-5 decision on April 1, and then won big over the Lakers 17-5 on May 9. Exactly two weeks after that second encounter, they met again, with Cazenovia, the no. 6 seed, owning a bit more confidence following a May 20 sectional quarterfinal win at no. 3 seed Skaneateles.
But Westhill did not let those earlier results, nor the Lakers’ recent surge, bother them. Instead, it blanked Cazenovia for most of the first half, not surrendering a goal until Alex Nowak scored with 27 seconds left in the second quarter.
By then, the Warriors already had a 5-0 advantage, and even after Cazenovia tried to climb back in the third quarter, Westhill stretched out the margin to 9-3, even getting a goal a man down early in the fourth quarter on the way to a 14-3 margin before easing up late.
Will Shepard did earn three goals, with Thomas Bragg scoring twice, adding an assist. Brice Basic and Will Khalil joined Nowak with single goals as Chris Becker got an assist. R.J. Smith made nine saves for the Lakers (7-11) as Casey Rogers paced Westhill with four goals.
Hours later, at Hyatt Stadium, the Cazenovia girls lacrosse team, the no. 7 seed in its Class D sectional bracket, took up a longshot bid against no. 2 seed Skaneateles, but never got close in this Laker battle, falling by a score of 20-4.
Skaneateles, no. 2 in the state rankings, had not lost since its star senior, Kyla Sears, returned to the lineup late in April. Even when Sears was out, though, Skaneateles had defeated Cazenovia 18-8 back on April 4.
Now, with Sears anchoring the attack (she finished with three goals and two assists), Skaneateles seized a 15-0 edge on Cazenovia by halftime, with Mae McGlynn also at the forefront as she earned six goals and one assist.
Not until the second half did the visiting Lakers get on the board as Keara Dwyer managed a pair of late goals, with Mikaylee Whalen and Molly Brown also finding the net. Cazenovia completed its season with an 8-10 record.
