On Thursday night, the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse girls lacrosse teams would have the first of two regular-season clashes at LHS Stadium, each of them with plenty of game experience in the books.
But what happened in those games, and the types of opponents they both faced, wildly differed.
Liverpool, following a March 16 defeat to South Shore, eased up and built a brief win streak, which continued last Tuesday night with an 18-6 romp over Cazenovia.
Before the first half was done, the Warriors already owned a 12-3 advantage, Kendra Hall setting the pace as she eventually produced five goals (one less than the Lakers’ entire total), plus an assist.
Emily Salanger and Colleen Tifft both scored three times, Salanger adding an assist. Jenna Irwin had two goals and three assists, with Bella Brancato adding two goals and two assists. Reva Mussi produced one goal and one assist.
Back-to-back weekend games were supposed to follow, but Liverpool’s game with Brighton on Friday was postponed, so it did not take the field again until Saturday’s trip to Central Square.
Once there, the Warriors had to work hard to outlast the Redhawks 11-10, putting most of the pressure on Tifft, who responded with four goals and one assist as Salanger got three goals and Brancato earned two goals and three assists. Hall and Macy Moore got single goals as Samantha Bates and Abby Cole combined for nine saves.
Meanwhile, C-NS had already gone through a rough start, with defeats to Rush-Henrietta and Baldwinsville, before hosting defending Section III Class D champion South Jefferson last Tuesday at Bragman Stadium.
Again, the Northstars lost, this one a 16-12 battle where, most of the way, C-NS did keep pace, only trailing 7-6 at halftime and continuing to produce on a consistent basis the rest of the way.
Fran Tortora again led the way, scoring four times. Paige Dorgan and Rylie Kocik had two goals apiece as Brooke Molchanoff got a goal and three assists. Single tallies also went to Molly Molchanoff, Iris Pigentini and Victoria Ianotti.
Despite all this, South Jefferson expanded upon its margin late, Savannah Fish finishing with five goals as Mackenzie Alexander (four goals) and Cassidy Burnash (three goals, one assist) also had big outings.
Another tough test awaited Thursday night, C-NS visiting Westhill, and this one wasn’t as close as the Northstars fell 16-9 to the Warriors.
Steaming from a double-overtime defeat to Skaneateles two nights earlier, Westhill took it out on the Northstars, gradually pulling away after establishing a 6-4 halftime margin.
Brooke Molchanoff stood out for C-NS with four goals and one assist. Dorgan found the net twice, with Tortora getting a goal and two assists. Gabriella Cicarello joined Molly Molchanoff with one goal and one assist. For Westhill, Rebecca Gilhooley and Caroline Miller each had four goals, Gilhooley adding four assists.
Aside from meeting each other, there is also Liverpool going to Rome Free Academy on Saturday just as C-NS visits Skaneateles.
