Now with most of its toughest tests behind them, the Skaneateles girls lacrosse team could turn to the serious task of building up confidence for the games that matter the most.
The Lakers made it through the first half of its regular-season slate at 5-3, a solid mark, though it included another setback last Tuesday as it fell 12-7 to Christian Brothers Academy at Hyatt Stadium.
Though CBA was the defending Section III Class A champions, it had lost twice in the previous nine days to Mount Sinai and Skaneateles, and felt some urgency to turn things around.
The Brothers did so against Skaneateles, led by the duo of Grace Hulslander and Olivia Penoyer, who would net four goals apiece and help push the Lakers into an 8-5 halftime deficit.
Only the work of Grace Dower kept Skaneateles close, as she had a part in every scoring play, netting two goals and piling up five assists, three of them on goals by Riley Brogan, the other two by Gaby Welch and Abbey Logan.
Yet the entire Lakers squad was contained in the second half, held to two goals to prevent a comeback.
To help Hulslsander and Penoyer, the Brothers had Anna Ziemba get a goal and two assists. Claire Jeschke and Gracie Britton each had one goal and one assist as Bella Roberson earned a goal and Tate Kohlbrenner contributed an assist.
Two days later, the second half of the Skaneateles regular season began with the Lakers handling Homer 17-8, the margin mostly created from scoring 11 times in the first half.
Brogan, by herself, managed six goals and two assists, with Dower scoring four times and also getting a pair of assists. Logan and Hope Allyn had two goals apiece as Welch, Ioanna Christou and Olivia Dobrovosky each scored once. Anna McGlynn added an assist.
Skaneateles faced Tully on Friday and prevailed again, 16-10, a result more impressive given that the likes of Olivia Navaroli and Maggie Newton were still out with injuries.
Overcoming lots of physical play from the Black Knights, the Lakers built a 9-3 advantage by halftime and again got big production from Brogan, with five goals and five assists, and Dower, who had six goals and one assist. Welch, Christou, McGlynn and Tatum Pas’cal had one goal apiece.
In the first week of May, Skaneateles (7-3) would get another test when it hosted West Genesee at Hyatt Stadium before visiting Jordan-Elbridge Friday night.
