CENTRAL NEW YORK – When neighborhood bragging rights were on the line in girls lacrosse, Chittenango got a jump on Cazenovia and did not let up in any way.
These two sides met last Monday night and it was all Bears, with an aggressive attack and solid defense that, put together, resulted in a 20-5 victory over the Lakers.
Going into the game, their records were not that far apart – Chittenango at 6-5, Cazenovia at 4-8. Yet in every phase of the game the Bears were effective, especially on the attack.
No less than five different Chittenango players earned hat tricks, led by Tomi Newkirk, who got to double digits in points by netting seven goals and adding three assists.
Caitlyn Sgambellone set a career mark with six assists to go with her three goals. Anna Lazzaro, Reese Ferstler and Gracie Brazell matched each other with three goals and one assist as Persephone Rohrer added one goal and one assist. Gabriella Feak also had an assist.
On Cazenovia’s side, Charlie Prior scored three times, with single goals going to Maddie DeAngelis and Wynslet Skidmore, but nothing else got past Bears goalie Abby Penfield, who stopped 11 of the 16 shots she faced.
Back home on Wednesday night, Cazenovia met reigning state Class D champion Skaneateles and took an 18-3 defeat in the clash of Lakers sides.
Goals by Prior, Sally Hughes and Hayden Bubble were all Cazenovia could muster, Skaneateles getting out to an 11-1 lead by halftime led by Anasaofia Cirincione’s four goals. Grace Marquardt and Paige Willard each had three goals and two assists.
Two more games followed for Chittenango on back-to-back nights, starting last Friday when it beat Vernon-Verona-Sherrill 9-7 and continuing with a 12-6 defeat to Whitesboro on Saturday.
Against the Red Devils, Newkirk led the way with three goals and two assists, but the Bears had nice balance around her. Rohrer and Sequoya Roberts both had one goal and one assist, with Sgambellone, Ferstler, Brazell and Hayley Thornton also converting.
Chittenango could not quite carry this over to the Whitesboro game, where it was tied 5-5 at halftime but the far fresher Whitesboro side dominated the second half, led by Kaelyn Barry and Brinley Ronan with three goals apiece.
Only Newkirk managed to score twice for the Bears, single goals going to Thornton, Sgambellone, Lazzaro and Ferstler as Sgambellone and Ferstler also picked up assists. Chittenango’s record fell to 8-6.
