Through a busy slate of September matches that have included all kinds of ups and downs, the Skaneateles girls soccer team has not wavered in its belief that it could turn into a contender.
And that belief was reinforced when Skaneateles edged Cazenovia 2-1 in last Thursday night’s Laker duel at Hyatt Stadium, a game that required early production and then some late defensive prowess.
During an active first half, Skaneateles twice converted, having Ryley Pascal and Maddie Peterson put in goals. But the host Lakers couldn’t get away as Cazenovia also got on the board with Kirsten Underwood’s goal.
Up by one at the break, Skaneateles could not add to that lead in the last 40 minutes. Instead, it leaned on the defense to keep Cazenovia from getting even, and it did so, with Grace Kush picking up seven saves, many of them from point-blank range.
One thing that Skaneateles and Cazenovia could do, besides have the same nickname, was share notes on how Clinton kept both of them off the board in games six days apart.
In the case of Skaneateles, the defeat was by a 6-0 margin, far more than 2-0 margin by which the Warriors handled Cazenovia on Sept. 6. It was a matter of the Lakers’ defense getting punished despite the constant work of Grace Kush, who finished with 12 saves.
Clinton spread its attack around. Five different players scored, with only Gwen Williams finding the net twice. Sydni Dreimiller had one goal and one assist as Julia Petriekis, Skyler Jones and Emmeline McPherson had one goal apiece.
Yet even with that disparity, Skaneateles beat Cazenovia head-to-head and, when that was done, the Lakers would travel to Auburn on Saturday afternoon and win that won, too, topping the Maroons by a more comfortable 4-1 margin.
Maddie Peterson proved unstoppable, having a part in all four of the Lakers’ scoring plays as she earned a three-goal hat trick and also assisted on Fallon Lynn’s goal. Brady Iles and Grace Dower got credit for assists as Tess Peterson only allowed Sydney Fallet to score for Auburn.
All of this left Skaneateles at 4-3 going into Wednesday night’s game at rival Marcellus, who has gone through its own ups and downs early this season. The Lakers host Chittenango on Saturday afternoon.
