CENTRAL NEW YORK – Now it was time for some of the area’s girls high school lacrosse teams to battle against one another and see just where they stood at the midway point of the regular season.
And no game loomed bigger than last Thursday’s showdown between Skaneateles and Marcellus, which on the surface seemed like a showdown among well-matched Class D title contenders.
Once the game started, though, it was all Lakers, who dominated in the draw circle, played superb defense every time it was needed and nearly kept the Mustangs off the board on the way to a 13-1 victory.
Kathryn Morrissey’s success with draws set up the rest of the picture, one where Julia O’Connor, with four goals and one assist, led a deep and well-balanced attack.
Ava Logan scored twice, adding a pair of assists. Rachel Hackler and Bella Brogan also had two-goal outings as Morrissey and Lilly Marquardt each had a goal and two assists.
Anasofia Cirincione had one goal and one assist as Paige Willard picked up an assist. Rachelle Cain made five saves, only giving up a second-half tally to Annalise Bird, assisted by Anna Spitzer. Marcellus goalie Janie Powell had 11 saves
Prior to that, Marcellus had rolled to back-to-back wins, starting on April 24 against Cazenovia where the Mustangs had little trouble handing that other group of Lakers 17-3.
Claire Card, with five goals and one assist, and Spitzer, with three goals and one assist, led an attack where Lucy Powell also scored three times. Bird and Kadie Tierney had two goals apiece, with Cece Powell earning a goal and two assists. Quinn Burnett had one goal and one assist.
Then, in last Tuesday’s 19-5 win over LaFayette, the Mustangs were even more potent. Cece Powell got five goals and one assist this time and Spitzer had three goals and three assists, with Burnett and Tierney also getting three-goal hat tricks. Card got two goals and two assists, with Bird and Lucy Powell both getting a goal and two assists.
This happened as Skaneateles rolled past Chittenango/Bishop Grimes 17-2. Ignoring the Bears’ 5-1 record, the Lakers dashed out to a 10-0 halftime lead and got 11 different goal-scorers.
Maquardt, with three goals and one assist, set the pace. Logan and Brogan both had two goals and two assists, with Cirincione and Claire Neumann also converting twice. O’Connor had a goal and four assists as Hackler, Ella Bobbett, Emily Huttar, Rory Comer and Tatum Ryan found the net, too.
Westhill went 6-2 in the first half of the regular season, and kept on rolling last Tuesday with a 20-4 victory over Mexico where the Warriors did a great job spreading the production around.
Five different players – Adelaide Lowery, Gianna Zerrillo, Claire Hunter, Olivia Gonnella and Aliyah Mattox – had three-goal hat tricks, Lowery and Hunter each getting a pair of assists. Kara Rosenberger scored twice, joining Julia Sparks in earning three assists.
In its own game against LaFayette Thursday, Westhill rolled again, winning 16-4 with Grace Winkler returning to form, scoring four times as Lowery and Karly Dillobaugh had three goals apiece. Rosenberger converted twice, with Zerrillo managing a goal and three assists.
Jordan-Elbridge faced Christian Brothers Academy last Monday and lost, 20-3, to the Brothers, with all three goals coming from Riley Crawford. Grace Britton (six goals, three assists) and Emily Bonacci (three goals, four assists) led the Brothers.
Then, when J-E faced Marcellus on Saturday afternoon, the Mustangs, steaming from what happened against Skaneateles, took it out on the Eagles, prevailing 20-4.
Card, with four goals and three assists, led an attack where Tierney and Lucy Powell also scored four times, with Spitzer getting two goals and four assists. Cece Powell got three goals as Bird, Burnett and Adison Roberts had single goals.
