Throughout the spring, the Cazenovia girls lacrosse team had proven, at least, that it belonged in the conversation among Section III Class C title contenders. Now the Lakers might be the main topic of discussion.
In front of the home fans Tuesday at the Fenner Street complex, Cazenovia pulled off what no one else had done since early April — namely, beat Westhill. The Lakers’ combination of skill and toughness put an end to the Warriors’ 14-game win streak in a 13-11 verdict that could prove as the springboard to much larger things. These teams had met before, on April 17 at Westhill. But the Lakers were not at full strength and took an 18-11 defeat. Everyone would be around for the rematch. To keep Westhill from establishing it high-octane attack, it was crucial for Cazenovia to win draws and the races for ground balls. It did both, gaining two more draws than the Warriors and hustling all over the field. When it attacked, Cazenovia got a lot, as usual, from Kara Cannizzaro, who had four goals and three assists. Just as importantly, Gabby Jaquith and Kendra Volz helped, each of them with three-goal hat tricks, while Julie Gregg earned a goal and three assists and Kassie Kleine found the net twice. All this work helped the Lakers lead 9-5 at halftime. The attack cooled off in the second half, meaning that Cazenovia’s defense had to hold up against Westhill’s comeback attempt. Led by Taylor Matt, Clare Dorsey, Kristen Romagnoli and the sister tandem of Kassie and Katie Kleine, the Lakers made sure every Westhill attacker was occupied, running with them step for step. Ally Loretz made six saves, too. As a result, no Warrior player scored more than twice, as Sam Marshall, Emily Haggarty, Annie O’Connor, Brenna Rainone and Erika Eipp stopped at that mark and Mackenzie Rainone could only manage one goal and two assists. They bought enough time so that Westhill could only pull within two, and when Katie Kleine made a key interception in the last minute of play, the Lakers’ biggest win of the season was secure. Yet the Lakers didn’t have any time to enjoy it — for it had to turn around and, 24 hours later, play at Jordan-Elbridge. Drained a bit after putting so much energy into beating Westhill, Cazenovia took an 18-17 loss to the Eagles. They played to a 7-7 first-half draw, and J-E kept pushing the tempo in the second half, slowly wearing the Lakers’ defenses down. Cazenovia lost even though Cannizzaro had six goals and two assists, with Jaquith getting four goals and two assists and Volz adding three goals and one assist. Gregg had a goal and two assists as Sarah Race, Kaitlyn Button and Kassie Kleine also scored. J-E countered with a deep, balanced attack where Chelsea Maitland and Carrie Farrugia each scored four times, with Amanda Wheeler adding three goals and two assists. Emily Dillon, Kate Dungey and Hanne Bailey each scored twice.