A split of its games in the Oswego Tournament on Aug. 30-31 left the Skaneateles girls soccer team with plenty of work to do as it plunged into the heart of its Onondaga High School League Liberty division schedule.
Things weren’t easy in the home opener against Solvay last Tuesday night at Hyatt Stadium. In fact, it was scoreless until the midway point of the second half, when the Lakers broke through and eventually beat the Bearcats 2-0.
Despite constant attacks, Skaneateles was unable to find the net during the first half. And it was still 0-0 when, with 23 minutes left, the Lakers got rewarded for its patience as Olivia Navaroli netted the go-ahead goal. With the pressure off, Tess Peterson tacked on an insurance goal with 10 minutes to play.
Skaneateles would have another non-league game at Clinton on Tuesday before a Laker duel with visiting Cazenovia Thursday night and a Saturday trip down Route 20 to face Auburn.
Back in that tournament in Oswego, Skaneateles had lost, 3-1, to defending Section III Class B champion Westhill. Now those same two sides met again a week later at Hyatt Stadium, and while it had more suspense, the Lakers again fell to the Warriors, this time 1-0.
For most of the night, Westhill could not convert despite constant pressure on the Skaneateles defense. Yet while Grace Kush made nine saves, she could not prevent Mackenzie Powers from putting a shot past her for the game’s lone goal. The Lakers were stymied most of the way, held to just two direct shots.
At 2-2, with both defeats coming to Westhill, Skaneateles, with its Tuesday trip to Clinton, began a stretch of four games in nine days that included a Saturday trek to Auburn and visits Thursday from Cazenovia and Sept. 20 from rival Marcellus.
