Cazenovia field hockey takes defeats to Camden, Oneida

CENTRAL NEW YORK – All the hoopla and excitement about playing on new artificial turf fields at Cazenovia High School is something the field hockey Lakers can view with some detachment.

After all, it was Cazenovia field hockey who, in the middle of the 2023 season, left its long-time home at Burton Street Elementary School and started to practice on the Upper Field long before baseball and softball teams played on it during the spring.

Through the transition, the Lakers had a strong 11-2-2 record before getting upended by Mount Markham in the Section III Class C semifinals, a defeat which has motivated Cazenovia all through the off-season.

Things did not go well, though, in the 2024 season opener on the Upper Field, Camden arriving and, taking charge in the second quarter, eventually prevailing 4-0 over the Lakers.

Coming off its own run to the sectional Class B championship last spring, the Blue Devils probed until the second quarter, when it twice put shots past Cazenovia goalie Rae Western.

Two more goals followed in the second half as Camden freshman Adrianna Omundsen recorded a three-goal hat trick in her varsity debut, with Camryn Shenk adding a goal and assist and Arianna Fox recording two assists.

In the first of back-to-back road games, Cazenovia went to Oneida on Saturday and, again, could not get on the scoreboard, taking a 2-0 defeat to the Express.

Most of the first half was scoreless before Oneida got on the board, doubling its margin late thanks to Ryleigh Marsh netting one goal and assisting on Alexis Amuso’s tally. Just as with Camden, Cazenovia’s attack would struggle to generate chances.

Still on the road Monday afternoon, the Lakers open Onondaga High School League play at Cato-Meridian before returning home Wednesday to face Cortland.