When the calendar hit the latter part of October in the last 10-plus years, the Cazenovia field hockey team was gearing up to play for, and usually winning, a Section III championship.
Of all the jarring facts about the Lakers’ 2018 season, none resonated as much as the one about it not getting past the opening round of the Section III Class C playoffs, something it once didn’t have to worry much about.
Cazenovia’s 1-0 defeat to Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Tuesday night brought an end to the season, and the disappointment was augmented by the notion that, despite all it had gone through this fall, the Lakers appeared to be in top form.
In the last week of the regular season, Cazenovia won all three of its games, including an impressive win at Weedsport against a Warriors side it lost to back in September and earned the top seed for the sectional Class D playoffs.
Yet even with that and the fact that most of its defeats came against Class A foes, Cazenovia still drew the no. 6 seed in a seven-team sectional bracket, meaning a trip to play VVS, the no. 3 seed, on the Red Devils’ new Field Turf at Sheveron Field.
The first half was scoreless, each side getting a fair amount of chances, but neither converting. That 0-0 battle continued into the second half, Cazenovia’s defense remaining tough and Shea Flannery earning seven saves.
When the breakthrough happened, though, it was the Red Devils producing it, Natalie Estrella taking a pass from Lindsay Foster and flicking a shot past Flannery.
VVS goalie Kelsey Wickham stopped all five of Cazenovia’s shots as the Red Devils advanced to Sunday’s semifinal at Fayetteville-Manlius against no. 2 seed Clinton, while top seed Camden faced Canastota.
With a finishing record of 7-9-1, Cazenovia now looks ahead to 2019. Just five seniors graduate, though it includes Flannery, attacker Katie Ammann (who led the team with nine assists), defenders Mackenzie Yates and Kathryn Kielbasinski and midfieder Samantha Morgan.
One big plus for the Lakers is that its three leading goal-scorers – Lily Sorbello (nine), Cavy Monahan (eight) and Carley Loundsberry (five) – should come back next fall, as does Peyton Basic and Ava Hartley. They’ll all be quite hungry to return Cazenovia to championship form.
