When the Cazenovia and Chittenango girls lacrosse teams clashed with each other last Tuesday night, the Lakers had the benefit of both rest and the fact that it had won a game this season.
And perhaps it was just that bit of confidence that helped Cazenovia the most as it battled through the rain and did enough to earn a 9-6 victory over the Bears.
It was Grace Rajkowski who opened the scoring for the Lakers. Chittenango tied it, only to have Rajkowski find the net again and Ava Hartley score, too, to put Cazenovia in front for good.
Up 4-2 at halftime, the Lakers nursed that slim margin through most of the second half. It was still a two-goal margin, 7-5, when in the final minutes Cazenovia converted twice to thwart any Bears rally.
Rajkowski added a third goal for a hat trick, while Hartley and Megan Hughes had two goals apiece. Kaitlyn Puffer had a goal and two assists, with Laura Connor also finding the net and Hope King adding a save.
On Chittenango’s side, Rhonee Shea Pal and Ashley Thompson both netted two goals, Shea Pal adding an assist. Ally Shoemaker and Julia Graham had the other goals.
Chittenango’s skid reached six in a row the night before it faced Cazenovia, its frantic comeback falling just short in a 13-12 defeat to the New Hartford Spartans.
Led by Ilana McCarthy (five goals, three assists) and Mary Fiorentino (four goals), New Hartford built a 7-4 edge by halftime, and did everything possible to withstand the Bears’ second-half push.
Shea Pal, with four goals and one assist, led a well-balanced Chittenango attack, Shoemaker and Julia Pynn matching those point totals as they both got three goals and two assists. Graham found the net twice and Lizzy Goss recorded seven saves.
Chittenango finally ended that long skid on Thursday night, hosting Mexico and producing enough in each half to gradually pull away and defeat the Tigers 14-9.
Three different Bears – Shoemaker, Graham and Alyssa Frantz – earned three-goal hat tricks, with Shoemaker adding two assists. Shea Pal topped them with six points from two goals and four assists, while Pynn had two goals and two assists. Thompson had one goal and one assist.
Meanwhile, Cazenovia had to face reigning state Class A champion Christian Brothers Academy Thursday night at Alibrandi Stadium, and were mostly contained in a 15-3 loss to the Brothers.
Other than two goals from Rajkowski and a goal from Connor, the Lakers were contained by a Brothers side that built a 10-1 halftime advantage. Gracie Britton led CBA with three goals and four assists, while Bella Roberson and Riley Taylor also scored three times.
On Saturday morning at Cazenovia College, the Lakers lost again, falling 18-7 to General Brown. Molly Brown had three goals and one assist, with Molly Schwartz scoring twice. Other goals went to Rajkowski and Charlie Harris as, for GB, Bailey Thomas amassed three goals and five assists.
Cazenovia has road games this week at Mexico and LaFayette, while Chittenango would go to Skaneateles Tuesday before back-to-back weekend games against Vernon-Verona-Sherrill and Marcellus.
