ONONDAGA COUNTY – Wins in its first two games had quickly shot the Cicero-North Syracuse girls lacrosse team to the top of the standings in the Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division.
One of those wins had come against Liverpool, and the two sides played again last Tuesday night at Bragman Stadium, with the Northstars again emerging with a victory, this one by a 13-8 margin amid a stretch where C-NS would play four times in six days and win three of them.
It had gone 10-7 when the Northstars and Warriors first met May 1. Just three nights later, the rematch featured some more production, but as before C-NS’s depth was difficult to match.
For all the attention Frankie Tortora drew with her three goals and three assists, the Northstars could also turn to Molly Malchanoff, Victoria Iannotti and Shea Firth, each of whom netted a pair of goals.
Brooke Malchanoff gained one goal and one assist, with Angela Beardsley, Jenna Pickard and Gabby Ciciarelli also converting as Ella Pauline contributed an assist.
Falling to 0-4 overall, Liverpool got two goals apiece from Kendra Hall, Jenna Irwin and Gianna Carbone, with Mia Berthoff joining Hall in the assist column as she and Marcy Moore netted single goals.
A night earlier, C-NS sought a high-quality non-league victory when it hosted South Jefferson, only to get thwarted in a tight 13-12 loss to the Spartans.
South Jefferson, who had romped past Watertown IHC 21-1 in its April 29 opener, played C-NS on even terms in a back-and-forth first half, which ended at 7-7.
The Northstars then took the lead early in the second half, only to have the Spartans counter and then inch out in front, staying there through a tense homestretch.
As she would against Liverpool, Tortora paced C-NS, scoring three times and adding three assists. Molly Malchanoff, Brooke Malchanoff and Mackenzie Prentice had two goals apiece, with Pickard, Beardsley and Ciciarelli also earning goals.
On South Jefferson’s side, Julia Garvin and Macy Schultz both finished with four goals, and Garvin added four assists as Karsyn Burnash added two goals and one assist.
The win over Liverpool turned around C-NS’s mood, and then it got an even bigger victory when it ventured to Camillus last Thursday and won a hard-fought 5-4 decision over West Genesee.
Fresh off beating Baldwinsville earlier in the week, the Wildcats ran into a stubborn C-NS defense that kept making key stops while, on the other end, the Northstars were patient with its possessions.
This continued throughout the night. Twice in the second half, C-NS would go out in front and twice WG would answer, but a goal with less than four minutes left gave the Northstars the lead for good.
Only Beardsley scored twice, with Prentice and Brooke Malchanoff both earning one goal and one assist. Tortora had the other goal and Alyssa Wilson stopped eight of the 12 shots she faced.
Carrying this momentum into a rematch with South Jefferson on Saturday, C-NS got even with the Spartans, prevailing 11-9 with more consistency on both sides of the ball.
Beardsley’s goal-scoring streak continued as she found the net three times, with Tortora, Pickard and Brooke Malchanoff getting two goals apiece and Malchanoff adding two assists. Prentice had a goal and two assists, with Molly Malchanoff earning one goal and one assist.
Liverpool, meanwhile, had its second clash with West Genesee in 10 days, again staying close against the Wildcats but again taking a defeat, this one by a 15-11 margin.
Irwin’s four goals paced a Warriors attack where Hall, Berthoff and Margaret Tifft each converted twice. Carbone added a goal, with assists credited to Caroline Stevens and Magdalena Larca. Clare Maracle played in goal and earned nine saves.
