If members of the Fayetteville-Manlius girls lacrosse team want any advice on what playing in the state final four at SUNY-Cortland is like, they could ask their coaches, Kelly Tormey and Kristen Taylor, who went through that experience a decade ago.
Or, if they like, the Hornets’ players can simply go up the road to Christian Brothers Academy, who won it all in Class A a year ago and are two wins from doing so again.
Both F-M and CBA earned impressive victories during Thursday’s regional finals at Chittenango High School as the Hornets blasted Horseheads 21-4 in the Class B game and the Brothers easily shook off a rough start against Corning-Painted Post to prevail 14-5 in the Class A contest.
CBA went first, having pulled away from Baldwinsville less than 48 hours earlier in the sectional Class A final. Perhaps the quick turnaround affected the Brothers as, in the first five minutes, Corning, the Section IV champions, jumped on them and took a 3-0 lead.
All that did, though, was provide the alarm to the Brothers, whose defense would proceed to shut out the Hawks for more than 35 minutes, deep into the second half. It gave a showcase to goalie Sloane Nicoletti-Watson, who made quick adjustments to Corning’s attackers and would stop 12 of the 17 shots she faced.
By the midway point of the first half, CBA had tied it, 3-3, with Jillian Henson scoring twice and Olivia Penoyer adding a goal. Once Grace Hulslander found the net with 4:08 left in the half, the Brothers had the lead for good.
That margin grew to 6-3 by halftime, and the run would include nine consecutive goals. Even when the Hawks broke the drought, the relief was temporary as Henson, Penoyer, Hulslander and Queri all scored in the late stages.
Having a part in more than half her team’s scoring plays, Penoyer finished with three goals and four assists. Henson and Meredith Strott also had three-goal hat tricks as Queri got two goals and two assists. Tate Kohlbrenner had one goal and one assist as Anna Ziemba and Claire Jeschke also made their way to the assist column.
Then it was F-M’s turn against Horseheads, and unlike CBA with Corning, the Hornets wouldn’t let the Blue Raiders get to any kind of good start – or even gain a notion that it could contend.
It required all of 21 seconds for Kiera Shanley to put F-M on the board. By the time she scored again to make it 5-0, Amanda Cramer, Gemma Addonizio and Katie Shanley had scored, too, and this was just the start.
Two more goals from Katie Shanley, and another from Cramer, got it to 8-0 before Horseheads could get on the board twice, but another Hornets surge extended the margin to double digits, 13-2, going into halftime.
The entire second half was played with a running clock – allowing the F-M players to make it to the school’s sports banquet on time – but the Hornets didn’t let up, eventually having seven different players score multiple goals.
Between them, the Shanley sisters found the net nine times – Katie with five goals, Kiera with four goals. Addonizio and Cramer each got three goals, Addonizio adding three assists.
Not to be left out, Annie Steigerwald delivered on two goals and three assists as Maddie Noel and Allison Macrae also scored twice. Kaylee Steigerwald had a goal and two assists. Jane Cote added an assist.
Up at Liverpool High School Stadium, Jamesville-DeWitt met Vestal in the Class C regional playoffs and nearly overcame an early five-goal deficit before falling to the Golden Bears 9-7.
From the time Amanda Fedor scored off the opening draw, Vestal never trailed. Unable to convert on its chances, J-D could only watch the Golden Bears built a 5-0 lead, and it took more than 16 minutes for the Rams to get on the board with Katie Lutz’s goal.
A second tally by Lutz, plus one from Bess Murad, helped cut the deficit to 6-3 by halftime, and J-D’s defense was impressive early in the second half, blanking Vestal as Riley Burns, with a free-position goal, and Lutz, completing her hat trick, made it 6-5 with more than 15 minutes to play.
The defense continued to shine – until a key turnover led to a goal by Vestal’s Sarah Harding, who then assisted on Amanda Fedor’s goal to restore the Golden Bears’ margin to 8-5. Even with late goals from Lizzie O’Brien and Lindsay MacLachlan, Vestal possessed the ball enough and, helped by Grace Harner’s goal with 3:36 left, held on.
J-D’s season ended – but F-M and CBA now go for state titles. On Friday at 9 a.m. at SUNY-Cortland, the Hornets face Canandaigua (Section V) in the state semifinals.
