CENTRAL NEW YORK – Warm weather greeted area high school girls lacrosse teams at the start of the April school break, where they all attempted to improve upon early-season concerns.
Skaneateles had lost April 5 at Fayetteville-Manlius, and took another setback last Wednesday when it went to the Rochester area and fell to Victor 13-7.
The Blue Devils had already beaten Cicero-North Syracuse earlier this season and, on this night, controlled enough of the draws, especially in a second half where it outscored the Lakers 8-4 to pull clear.
Only Kathryn Morrissey scored twice for Skaneateles. Julia O’Connor had a goal and two assists, with Bella Brogan and Lilly Marquardt each getting one goal and one assist. Rachel Hackler and Ava Logan had the other goals.
Back home at Hyatt Stadium to face Penfield a day later, the Lakers again found itself in a tough battle, but started strong, which led to a 7-4 win over the Patriots.
A big first half saw Skaneateles establish a 5-1 advantage, negating Penfield’s attempts to slow down the tempo as O’Connor led the way, finishing with three goals and one assist.
Morrissey converted twice, adding an assist, while Marquardt and Logan had the other goals. Brogan had an assist as she and Hackler combined to control six draws and goalie Rachelle Cain turned back nine of the Patriots’ 13 shots.
Westhill gained a high-quality win of its own last Thursday against Liverpool, relying on a quick start as the foundation for a 13-9 victory in this clash of two Warrior sides.
Building an 8-3 advantage in those first 25 minutes, Westhill was led by Grace Winkler, who had five goals and two assists. Cara Rosenberger scored three times as Adelaide Lowery had two goals and one assist. Rosemary Mahoney and Carly Dillobaugh earned single goals.
As for Marcellus, it went east, to the Albany area, to face Section II’s Bethlehem last Monday and fought its way to a 5-4 victory over the Eagles.
Each side dealt with long possessions that rarely resulted in goals. That served the Mustangs well as it inched into a 2-1 lead by halftime, then fought off all of Bethlehem’s attempts to tie or go in front, each of goalie Janie Powell’s 11 assists proving important.
Three of the Mustangs’ five goals went to Lucy Powell, while Claire Card had one goal and one assist. Cece Powell had the other goal as Quinn Burnett and Anna Spitzer gained assists. Burnett also had four ground balls.
