CENTRAL SQUARE - So far, the Skaneateles girls lacrosse team's offense has been the star, but in Tuesday's state regional against Maine-Endwell, it the defense's turn in the spotlight.
Skaneateles' Stephanie Rice (4) knocks the ball loose from Maine-Endwell's Amanda Brenon with the help of her teammate Kelsey Nangle, left, in their state quarterfinal win over the Spartans Tuesday afternoon in Central Square. Jason Rearick / The Citizen
The Lakers' suffocating defense held the Section IV-champion Spartans to a single goal in each half for a 19-2 victory and the Class C regional championship. Skaneateles will face the winner of Section V's Penn Yan and Section VI's East Aurora quarterfinal at 4 p.m. Friday at SUNY Cortland.
"We played defense on the entire field, pressured from the time their goalie got the ball all the way down, "said Laker defender Cassidy Callahan. "So we didn't have to do that much as low defenders, because starting with the attack, they were already pressuring the ball."
It was a redeeming win for Skaneateles, who was upset last year in regionals by another Section IV team, Corning East.
"It was very important to those seniors who have been through it for the past couple of years, through the disappointment, to prove to the younger girls that this is important to them and to kind of bring them along the way, " said Laker coach Bridget Marquardt.
Skaneateles (22-0) was in control early on and double-teamed M-E (12-6) to force 27 turnovers, and held leading scorers Jessika Yurko and Michelle Phillips off the scoreboard.
"We stopped trying to check because they were ducking their stick into their body and we were getting the foul," Marquardt said. "So all we did was concentrate on double teaming, pushing the girl into another defender and stopping the ball and slowing down the ball."
Skaneateles had an experience advantage in two different areas. It's the third time in as many years that the Lakers have made it to the state playoffs, while the Spartans won their first sectional title just last week.
The Lakers have a strong core of seniors and juniors, while the Spartans start eight sophomores.
"You come in and a lot of these kids have never been to the state level or even watched the state level," said M-E coach Heather Doyle. "You can only prepare them so much, but until you've really seen it and experienced it, it's difficult to tell."
After picking up several ground balls and winning two draws, Skaneateles jumped out to a 5-0 lead. The Lakers were able to find the open player through a tightly-packed Maine-Endwell defense.
"We were patient with the ball, and we didn't throw it away," said Laker midi Emily Lotkowictz. "We just ran a couple of our plays that we know we could get open cutters with and set up those cutters."
The Spartans found the net when Catherine Federowicz fed Sara Sanders to make it 5-1 at the 11:26 mark. The Lakers responded by dominating until halftime, scoring six unanswered goals.
"We knew that they were a real strong team, obviously," Doyle said. "The biggest thing that I told my kids was that we have to try to keep confident for the 50 minutes. It's tough against a good team, but I definitely think there were points in the game that we gave up, and lost our confidence - which a good team can do to you."
The speed and aggression that M-E showed at the beginning of the half were gone by the break. The Spartans were still double teaming, but the Lakers were always able to find the player who was left unguarded.
Breanna Haggerty fed Stephanie Rice in the opening minute of the second half. Skaneateles kept on firing right up until its final goal, when Meg Dwyer found Katy Fatti with 23.6 left in regulation.
Carolyn Davis paced the Lakers with four goals and five assists. Rice followed with five goals, Lotkowictz had three, Haggerty had two goals and one assist, and Fatti, Jessica Haswell, Meg Dwyer and Kelsey Nangle had one goal and one assist. Katie Schoener had one goal, and Lauren Vitkus passed out two assists.
Whitney Johnson had two saves, while Danielle Murphy had one. The Lakers led in shots (31-11) and ground balls (39-34).
"We played defense on the entire field, pressured from the time their goalie got the ball all the way down, "said Laker defender Cassidy Callahan. "So we didn't have to do that much as low defenders, because starting with the attack, they were already pressuring the ball."
It was a redeeming win for Skaneateles, who was upset last year in regionals by another Section IV team, Corning East.
"It was very important to those seniors who have been through it for the past couple of years, through the disappointment, to prove to the younger girls that this is important to them and to kind of bring them along the way, " said Laker coach Bridget Marquardt.
Skaneateles (22-0) was in control early on and double-teamed M-E (12-6) to force 27 turnovers, and held leading scorers Jessika Yurko and Michelle Phillips off the scoreboard.
"We stopped trying to check because they were ducking their stick into their body and we were getting the foul," Marquardt said. "So all we did was concentrate on double teaming, pushing the girl into another defender and stopping the ball and slowing down the ball."
Skaneateles had an experience advantage in two different areas. It's the third time in as many years that the Lakers have made it to the state playoffs, while the Spartans won their first sectional title just last week.
The Lakers have a strong core of seniors and juniors, while the Spartans start eight sophomores.
"You come in and a lot of these kids have never been to the state level or even watched the state level," said M-E coach Heather Doyle. "You can only prepare them so much, but until you've really seen it and experienced it, it's difficult to tell."
After picking up several ground balls and winning two draws, Skaneateles jumped out to a 5-0 lead. The Lakers were able to find the open player through a tightly-packed Maine-Endwell defense.
"We were patient with the ball, and we didn't throw it away," said Laker midi Emily Lotkowictz. "We just ran a couple of our plays that we know we could get open cutters with and set up those cutters."
The Spartans found the net when Catherine Federowicz fed Sara Sanders to make it 5-1 at the 11:26 mark. The Lakers responded by dominating until halftime, scoring six unanswered goals.
"We knew that they were a real strong team, obviously," Doyle said. "The biggest thing that I told my kids was that we have to try to keep confident for the 50 minutes. It's tough against a good team, but I definitely think there were points in the game that we gave up, and lost our confidence - which a good team can do to you."
The speed and aggression that M-E showed at the beginning of the half were gone by the break. The Spartans were still double teaming, but the Lakers were always able to find the player who was left unguarded.
Breanna Haggerty fed Stephanie Rice in the opening minute of the second half. Skaneateles kept on firing right up until its final goal, when Meg Dwyer found Katy Fatti with 23.6 left in regulation.
Carolyn Davis paced the Lakers with four goals and five assists. Rice followed with five goals, Lotkowictz had three, Haggerty had two goals and one assist, and Fatti, Jessica Haswell, Meg Dwyer and Kelsey Nangle had one goal and one assist. Katie Schoener had one goal, and Lauren Vitkus passed out two assists.
Whitney Johnson had two saves, while Danielle Murphy had one. The Lakers led in shots (31-11) and ground balls (39-34).