Warm temperatures greeted three local girls high school lacrosse teams as they set out Monday for action in the Section III Class C playoffs. Two of them, Westhill and Jordan-Elbridge, faced each other in the Class C-2 quarterfinals, and in a reversal of what took place four days earlier on that same field, the Warriors eliminated the Eagles 12-8. Just up the road, Marcellus, defending the no. 3 seed in Class C-1, tore past no. 6 seed Chittenango in a 21-7 romp, setting up a semifinal against undefeated Jamesville-DeWitt in the process. As far as Westhill was concerned, nothing could have provided more motivation than getting the no. 6 seed in C-1 and seeing J-E as its first opponent. For when they had met in the May 20 regular-season finale, the Warriors led with less than a minute to play, only to watch the Eagles’ Carrie-Jo Farrugia score twice in the closing seconds to pull out an 11-10 win. Remembering that, Westhill relied on its potent front line of Emily Haggerty, Brenna Rainone and Caroline Buoncore to gain a 7-5 edge by halftime. What’s more, once it had that lead, the Warriors played smarter lacrosse, possessing the ball and taking high-percentage shots, not letting J-E make any kind of sustained run in response. Haggerty finished with four goals and three assists, with Buonocore adding four goals of her own, plus two assists. Rainone contributed three goals and one assist as Molly Kiggins earned the other tally and Emily Kizer added an assist. On J-E’s side, there was more depth, but no one able to take over as only Emily Dillon scored twice. Ella Thorpe had a goal and two assists as Farrugia, Kelsey Youmell, Amanda Brown, Mallory Snyder and Amanda Wheeler also earned goals. Kelsey Richardson had 10 saves, two more than Morgan Roach.
As Westhill advanced to face Skaneateles in the C-2 semifinals, Marcellus was laying a path of total destruction against Chittenango. Sustaining a high level of play on both ends, the Mustangs had double digits on the board in the first half, an 11-2 edge by halftime and kept on producing long after the running clock kicked into effect. Three different players had six points apiece. Leea Sinay got four goals and two assists, while Erin Walter had three goals and three assists. Meghan Connors piled up five assists to go with her lone goal. Nora Barry put up five goals, while Kelly Welch, Molly McGuane and Andrea Burrows matched each other with two goals. Ellen Brooks and Nicole Nolan scored, too. Chittenango’s Jenna Barber (four goals, two assists) accounted for most of her team’s production. The Mustangs would have a tall task against J-D, who built its mark to 17-0 with a 25-8 romp over Mexico. The winner gets Carthage or South Jefferson in Friday’s C-1 final at Solvay. Westhill is also a win from a trip to “The Pit”, but will need to take down long-time power Skaneateles, who handled LaFayette 21-13 in its opener. CBA or Tully would await in Friday’s C-2 final.