To some degree, the Skaneateles girls lacrosse team entered the Section III Class D playoffs in an unfamiliar position – not as a confident, overwhelming favorite, but as one of several contenders that equally felt a championship was within reach.
Yet it was still the Lakers program that carried an aura its opponents could not match, built up through a string of sectional and state championships earned in the last 15 years.
As the no. 3 seed in a 10-team bracket, Skaneateles started out by hosting no. 6 seed LaFayette in last Tuesday’s quarterfinal at Hyatt Stadium and jumping all over the Lancers in the first half on the way to a 15-8 victory.
Not only did the Lakers have the advantage of big-game experience, it also remembered how LaFayette had pushed them hard two weeks earlier in a 16-15 thriller, and weren’t about to let that happen again.
Two quick goals by Olivia Navaroli keyed an early run, while the Skaneateles defense punished the Lancers every turn, only surrendering one goal the entire first half.
Yet it wasn’t until late in the half that it got decided. Already up 6-1, the Lakers managed to squeeze in four goals in the last 90 seconds before the horn, taking full advantage of the fact that the clock stops at every whistle in the last two minutes of a half.
Suddenly, it was 10-1, and Skaneateles could afford to relax in the second half, producing enough even as it got outscored 7-5 as Carha Williams (four assists), Mya DeJoseph and Charlotte Ryan (two goals apiece) led the Lancers.
Grace Dower augmented her three-goal hat trick by getting five assists, while Navaroli had three assists to go with her hat trick. Abbey Logan also scored three times as Riley Brogan got two goals and two assists, with Maggie Newton and Gaby Welch also scoring twic
And now it was on to Thursday’s semifinal at Christian Brothers Academy’s Alibrandi Stadium against no. 2 seed Westhill, who was desperate to earn its first sectional title and avenge an 11-9 defeat to the Lakers on April 19.
Skaneateles would not let those things happen, answering every Warriors push with one of its own and, again, effectively shutting off any comeback attempt down the stretch as it prevailed 9-6.
They traded goals in a fast-paced first half, three times the Lakers going in front and every time the Warriors answering, until Navaroli and Dower hit on the first back-to-back goals of the night to put Skaneateles in front 5-3 midway through the half.
Westhill slowed it down and pulled back even, 5-5, but with chances to go in front, the Warriors could not do so, and Welch converted 30.9 seconds before halftime, ultimately giving the Lakers the lead for good.
Much of the second half was a standoff, with one goal on each side and the Lakers attempting to sit on its slim margin. But it turned in a sequence where goalie Ryley Pas’cal stopped the Warriors point-blank on a tying shot with eight minutes left and, seconds later, Navaroli converted on the other end.
That made it 8-6, and the Lakers burned most of the remaining clock, adding a last-second goal by Grace Dower, who finished the night with three goals and one assist.
Brogan matched Navaroli’s pair of goals and added two assists, with Ionna Christou adding a goal and anchoring a defense that also saw Christiana Ciaccio, Jessica Patalino and Grace Kush stand out.
And it sets up a sectional title-game rematch of 2017 next Tuesday at SUNY-Cortland between Skaneateles and top seed South Jefferson, who sits atop the state Class D rankings and beat Marcellus 10-3 in the other sectional semifinal.
