With a tournament victory in Oswego on its early-season resume, the Skaneateles girls soccer team sought more success when it traveled to Cazenovia last Thursday night for its OHSL Liberty division opener.
Yet this Laker duel was decided by the talents of Maddy Gavitt, whose second-half outburst helped Cazenovia turn back Skaneateles by a score of 3-1.
First, it was Cazenovia’s defense that stood out, keeping a potent Skaneateles side scoreless in the first half and then only allowing Riley Brogan’s goal in the latter stages. Tessa Hansknecht stopped nine of the 10 shots she faced.
Meanwhile, Gavitt took over. She converted seven minutes into the second half and, after Brogan tied it, got fouled inside the 18-yard box near the midway point of the half.
Calmly, Gavitt beat Grace Kush on the penalty kick, and not content with that, Gavitt returned to score again for a hat trick. Kush finished with nine saves, the same total as Hansknecht.
This was not what Skaneateles needed as it hosted West Genesee on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats, undefeated in four matches going into this game, made it five in a row, pulling away to hand the Lakers a 4-1 defeat.
For a moment, an upset seemed possible when, trailing 1-0, Skaneateles got even thanks to Sarah Bailey’s goal. But WG got back in front 2-1 by halftime and then pulled away late.
Kush had seven saves, while the Wildcats saw Chrissy Van Allen earn a pair of goals, with Sammie Snyder and Sarah Petrus also finding the net.
The night before, it was the Skaneateles boys soccer team earning its first win of the season, blanking Chittenango 3-0.
Having rested and practiced for a week since its struggles in the Baldwinsville Tournament, the Lakers tightened up its defense and limited the Bears to four shots, all stopped by Yorvin Solis.
Meanwhile, getting away from a 1-0 halftime advantage, Skaneateles had Thomas Reed involved in all the scoring plays, getting goal and assisting on those by Will Pinckney and Andrew Moss.
This followed a game against defending Section III Class B champion Westhill last Wednesday that got pushed back to Oct. 11.
In the meantime, the boys Lakers will face Homer, Jordan-Elbridge and Mexico this week as the Skaneateles girls go to Hannibal Wednesday and then host rival Marcellus on Saturday at 11 a.m.
