Of all the Onondaga High School League sides that the Cazenovia field hockey team had to face this season, one remained the most elusive.
The Lakers went to Weedsport last Thursday afternoon and, in the season’s worst playing conditions, generated all sorts of chances, but could not find the net and took a 1-0 defeat to the Warriors.
These teams had played Sept. 17 at Burton Street and ended in a 1-1 draw. Now they met again amid a steady rain that made possessing and keeping the ball far more difficult.
Still, Cazenovia put on pressure, taking eight shots, each of them stopped by Weedsport goalie Mariah Quigley.
For its part, the Lakers’ defense mostly contained the Warriors, Mackenzie Halliday making five saves. But when Suzie Nemec scored off a feed from Emma Stark, Weedsport had a lead it would not relinquish.
It didn’t help the Lakers much that its scheduled game last Tuesday at Port Byron/Union Springs was postponed by rain and lightning, rescheduled for Oct. 16.
Following the defeat to Whitesboro, Cazenovia met Homer Saturday, its last regular-season home game of 2019, which meant it was Senior Day for six Lakers – Peyton Basic, Molly Brown, Tessa Carroll, Peyton Clarke, Ava Hartley and Erica Howard.
As the program traditionally does, the seniors were honored in a postgame ceremony inside the front gymnasium at Burton Street Elementary School, where each of the seniors was given special blankets to honor them for their commitment to Laker field hockey.
From a numerical standpoint, it was fitting that, for these six seniors, Cazenovia beat Homer 6-0, with Clarke and Hartley each contributing two goals and Brown also finding the net as she and Carroll both had an assist. Sammy Sparks also earned two goals.
Cazenovia’s four remaining games were all on the road, starting Monday at Liverpool and continuing Thursday at East Syracuse Minoa before the Port Byron/Union Springs match and the Oct. 18 visit to Fayetteville-Manlius.
