CENTRAL NEW YORK – Having faced plenty of adversity during the first half of the 2022 regular season, the Cazenovia girls lacrosse team was determined to turn it around.
When the Lakers faced Tully/Fabius-Pompey last Monday at Cazenovia College’s Christakos Field, it put together a fine all-around effort to take out the Black Knights 16-5.
Building a 9-3 advantage by halftime, Cazenovia kept it up thanks to a perfectly balanced attack where seven different players picked up multiple goals.
Charlie Prior, with three goals and two assists, led the way as Riley Knapp also had three goals. Megan Kuhn and Madison DeAngelis had two goals and two assists, with Katie Rajkowski and Hadley Schug both producing two goals and one assist. Julia Reff also had a two-goal outing.
Cazenovia proved successful again on Thursday afternoon against LaFayette, rolling to a 13-5 victory over the Lancers with a steady, well-balanced attack.
Knapp and Rajkowski each scored three times, with DeAngelis and Kuhn netting two goals apiece. Schug got a goal ane two assists as Prior and Cailtyn Smithers also found the net and Mackenzie Halladay recorded seven saves.
Chittenango was 7-2 going into last Monday’s game against Christian Brothers Academy, but found itself unable to contain the Brothers’ Gracie Britton in a 6-8 defeat.
Britton, with eight goals, matched the entire Bears roster, with help from Maeve Mackenzie’s three goals. Ashley O’Hara did get two goals and four assists for Chittenango as Cara Kielbasa scored three times and Brooke Walters had two goals. Caitlyn Sgambellone also found the net.
In Thursday’s 14-5 loss to Homer, the Bears could not overcome a 7-2 halftime deficit. Sgambellone was the lone Chittenango player to score twice. Kielbasa and O’Hara both had one goal and one assist, with Newkirk getting the other goal. Kloey Roos (five goals) and Hannah Slade (four goals) accounted for most of the Trojans’ production.
On Saturday, Chittenango met Whitesboro and lost to the Warriors 12-6. O’Hara had three goals, with Newkirk scoring twice and Skyler Brown adding a goal. Sgambellone and Kielbasa had one assist apiece. Abby Penfield recorded 12 saves.
