Neighbors met in girls soccer last Wednesday night as Cazenovia visited Chittenango, with each side having reason to think they would emerge on top.
And the game certainly proved entertaining. The Bears got the jump, but the Lakers managed to put together the closing kick (and kicks) to emerge with a 3-2 victory.
During an evenly played first half, both sides probed, but only Chittenango got on the board thanks to Emily Moon’s goal. As it turned out, the Bears would pay for not getting more early.
Three different times in the second half, Cazenovia burned Chittenango for unassisted goals. Maddie Gavitt converted her 21st goal, with Julia Reff and Grace Rajkowski also finding the net.
Thus, the Bears found itself behind, and Sarah Martin converting a penalty kick, it could not quite force overtime, Lakers goalie Tessa Hansknecht making five saves, the same as Ava Dardaris.
Two days earlier, Chittenango had managed to play Marcellus, who had risen to no. 2 in the state Class B rankings earlier this season, to a 1-1 draw.
All through the first half, both sides had plenty of opportunities, but it stayed 0-0 until a second-half exchange where Madison Wagner, off a feed from Sarah Martin, scored for the Bears and Anna Vetsch converted for the Mustangs.
No one could break that tie through the rest of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime. For that, Chittenango could thank Dardaris, who stopped 20 of the 21 Marcellus shots she faced. Marcellus goalie Kendall Koloski had 10 saves.
Cazenovia, meanwhile, was at Phoenix, putting away the Firebirds 5-1 with its most well-balanced attack of the season, one that had five different goal-scorers.
Maddy Gavitt remained a focal point of defenders, but she managed two assists to go with her 20th goal of the season. Rajkowski, Emily Reff, Lilli Gavitt and Akberet Tella also found the net.
After knocking off Chittenango, Cazenovia would face Holland Patent on Friday and immediately tumble down in a 5-0 defeat to the Golden Knights.
Hansknecht was able to make six saves, but no one on the Lakers’ defense could contain the HP duo of Hannah Bochniak and Annastasha Dornburgh, each of whom had two goals and one assist.
As for the Bears, it went to Hannibal Friday and let out its frustration from the Cazenovia loss on the overmatched Warriors in an 11-0 romp.
In particular, Martin put on a show, netting four goals and adding two assists. Wagner and Jessica Garcia also had two assists as Wagner, Mekenzie Dahlin, Aaliyeh Emad, Kelsey Page, Ally Shoemaker and Carolyn Myka took turns netting single goals.
Cazenovia, at 8-4 overall, would go to Homer Monday and visit Alibrandi Stadium Thursday to face CBA. Chittenango took a 7-3-1 mark into Monday’s game against Skaneateles before a Wednesday match with Solvay.
