ONONDAGA COUNTY – When high school girls lacrosse was last played in 2019, each of the area’s small-school teams was still trying to reach the exalted level Skaneateles had reached so often.
When the Lakers returned to action last week, it had an immediate opportunity to reinforce its dominance when it traveled to Westhill last Thursday afternoon in a key early-season showdown.
Even though the Warriors had played four times and won them all, it struggled early against an aggressive Skaneateles attack, which established an early margin and held it the rest of the way to prevail 12-8.
As it sprinted out to that early 7-3 edge, the Lakers leaned heavily on the duo of Kathryn Morrissey and Bella Brogan. By game’s end, Morrissey had four goals and two assists, with Brogan getting three goals and one assist.
Trying to catch up, Westhill did get three goals apiece from Katy McPeak and Gianna Zerrillo, with Rosemary Mahoney scoring twice, but it wasn’t quite enough.
Aiding Morrissey and Brogan, Julia O’Connor gave Skaneateles a goal and two assists, while Ava Logan also scored and Rachel Hackler picked up an assist.
Just before this, Skanetaeles had opened its season against Fayetteville-Manlius last Tuesday at Hyatt Stadium and went right back to its usual winning form, handling the Hornets 15-6.
F-M had struggled to a 1-2 start, but still had three games in the books. Yet Skaneateles controlled all phases of the game while sprinting out to an 8-2 halftime advantage.
Ultmately, the Lakers saw Maggie Newton net six goals to go with an assist, the passes often coming from Morrissey, who had five assists to go with two goals.
Logan, O’Connor and Hackler each matched Morrissey’s two-goal output as Brogan added one goal and one assist, with Lilly Marquardt also getting an assist. Sophomore Emily Evans was superb in the net, stopping 12 of F-M’s 18 shots.
As that went on, Westhill was blanking Tully/Fabius-Pompey 17-0 for its fourth straight win as Mahoney and McPeak both netted four goals, Mahoney adding three assists.
Isabella Sampo had two goals and two assists, with Nicolette Albert also converting twice. Adelaide Lowery, Sophia Caron and Claire Hunter each got one goal and one assist, with Grace Winkler also finding the net and assists going to Ava Robb and Karly Dillabough.
After it lost to Skaneateles, Westhill ran right into Class B favorite Auburn on Saturday and fell 12-9 to the Maroons, who won its third in a row by breaking out in front in the second half after the two sides were even 5-5 at the break.
Winkler’s five goals accounted for more than half the Warriors’ production. Lowery scored twice, with Mahoney and McPeak getting the other goals as, for Auburn, Abbie Izzo got four goals and one assist and Gracie Giannettino managed two goals and four assists, overcoming Frankie Argentieri’s nine saves.
Marcellus, forced by COVID-19 protocols to delay the start of its season, did not seem too affected by the delay, for when it finally emerged last Tuesday night for its season opener, the Mustangs handled Jordan-Elbridge 21-7.
By herself, the Mustangs’ Madeline Caron matched the Eagles’ output, scoring seven times as Casey Conklin was busy, too, amassing five goals and four assists.
Anna Spitzer, Quinn Burnett and Annalise Bird got two goals apiece, with Sophia Spitzer and Kadie Tierney each getting one goal and one assist. On J-E’s side, Gabrielle Gunnip had most of the production, earning six goals as Madyn LaFleur had the other goal.
Two nights later, Marcellus beat Cazenovia 16-5, sprinting out to a 9-1 halftime advantage with Burnett, Anna Spitzer and Lucy Powell each finishing with three goals. Bird scored twice, adding a pair of assists as Sophia Spitzer also got two goals. Conklin had a goal and three assists as Caron and Tierney also converted.
J-E was close in last Thursday’s game with Mexico, but lost 10-9 to the Tigers, who overcame Gunnip’s six goals as Clara Derby got a goal and two assists. Kyra Dominick and Ireland Hill also scored for the Eagles.
