CORTLAND – Loud applause and cheers greeted the Fayetteville-Manlius girls lacrosse team as it left the field at SUNY-Cortland Tuesday night following the conclusion of the Section III Class B championship game.
True, West Genesee prevailed, 14-9, to repeat as sectional champions, but that could not diminish from all the Hornets accomplished just to get there.
The phrase “unlikely turnaround” is difficult to associate with a lacrosse program as storied as F-M. Yet that’s exactly what the Hornets pulled off in 2024, going from a 3-15 campaign the year before to the sectional final.
What’s more, F-M had to battle just to reach the title game, from rallying to outscore Central Square 15-13 in the May 21 quarterfinal to a semifinal at Nottingham High School where it needed overtime to knock off no. 2 seed Watertown 15-14.
Against the Cyclones, it was the Hornets who got the jump, leading 9-5 by halftime and then stretching its margin to 12-7 at one point in the second half before the Cyclones roared back.
Led by the sister duo of Olivia and Alex Matucek (four goals each), Watertown caught up and, at 14-14, dragged it to OT, where F-M was able to get posssesion and work it to Julianna Cogliandro, and the senior put home the game-winner.
That was Cogliandro’s third goal of the night, running her season total to 52. Taylor Novack led with five goals, added a pair of assists and won 16 draw controls as eighth-grader Jane Ryan stepped up for her first three-goal hat trick. Addison Keyes and Kathryn McNany each scored twice and Micaela Jennings recorded eight saves.
Now it was West Genesee, whom F-M nearly rallied to beat in a tight 9-8 decision on May 16 after a more lopsided 15-6 loss earlier in the season.
Combining its experience with its proven depth, the Wildcats sprinted out to a 4-0 lead before the game was five minutes old, with Ashleigh Blanding scoring twice after goals by Keira Vrabel and Mia Gialto.
Up 5-1 after one period, the Wildcats added to that margin in the second, and a big sequence came right before halftime.
Trailing 8-3, F-M had chances to get closer, but WG goalie Allie Hanlon made two point-blank stops before Gialto scored with 15.8 seconds left, extending WG’s margin to 9-3 at the break.
Just as important was what the Wildcats’ defense was doing, holding Novack, who entered the game with 65 goals, off the board throughout the first two periods with strong face-guarding from Maddie Ryder and frequent double teams, too.
Novack finally did convert in the third quarter, which Blanding and Maria Snyder answered with back-to-back goals amid a driving rain.
Then Novack and Ryan scored 34 seconds apart, reducing WG’s margin to 11-7. Again, though, the Wildcats had a timely answer as Molly Doran converted just before the period ended, then joined Blanding (they finished with four goals apiece) to score in the fourth quarter, essentially putting the game out of reach.
