Cortland Standard .net

By TOM VARTANIAN
Staff Writer
Maggie Ryan scored with 5:13 left in the second half to break an 11-11 tie and put visiting Auburn in the lead for good during a girls’ lacrosse non-league match-up with Homer Central on a chilly Friday night.
Ryan’s third goal of the night gave the Maroons a 12-11 lead before Anna Spin scored an empty net goal with 15 seconds remaining to seal the 13-11 triumph and spoil a nice comeback bid by the host Trojans in the season opener for both teams on George Butts Field.
“I was pleased with the win,” Auburn coach Bill Dean said. “We really have not been on the field much. We did get on the field once in Long Island. Other than that, it was yesterday and today.
“I really was not sure how we would handle things, but we did alright,” he added. “The girls have worked hard in the off-season and pre-season. Homer has some very good players who can score. I was not happy we gave up our lead, but we weathered the storm when they made their run. We kept our composure and it was a good character-building game for us.”
Auburn led 8-4 at halftime, but Homer kept chipping away at the Maroon’s advantage.
With 10:18 remaining, Morgan Hollenbeck found an opening and delivered the ball into the cage to pull the home team to within 11-10.
With 6:56 to go, Natali Partigianoni scored off a free position restart to tie the game at 11-11.
Homer tried to keep the momentum, but Auburn forced a turnover and that led to Ryan’s game-winner.
The Trojans tried to make one final comeback, but the Maroon worked the clock and time ran down.
The Trojans had picked up two yellow cards late in the match and were down two players when Spin scored the final goal. Homer goalkeeper Katie Lawrence was also on the bench as the Trojans went for an extra attacker.
“WE JUST COULDN’T get the lead,” Homer coach Ed Porter said. “We were victims of our own circumstances in the first half which allowed Auburn to get the lead. We turned the ball over. It just took a while to get into a rhythm. Once we settled down in the second half I thought we played well.
“We do bring a lot back on offense,” he continued. “We are just young on defense. We just need to get to know other because it was just our second time on a full field.”
Freshman netminder Lawrence looked good in her varsity debut. She finished with nine saves on the night as did her counterpart in the Auburn goalkeeper, Kayleigh Bello-Woodcock.
“It was nice to see Katie do well in her first varsity game,” Porter said. “It wasn’t a bad start for a freshman. She did make nine saves.”
Hollenbeck and Olivia Porter each scored three goals to lead the Homer attack.
Nina Armideo netted two goals while Partigianoni, Carolyne Yonta and Kim Dieroff collected one goal each. Julia Brazo dished out one assist for the Trojans.
Lacey Netti scored three goals and and had two assists to pace Auburn. Ryan and Spin each tallied three goals with one assist. Bridget Moore collected two goals with Julia Rescott (one assist) and Celina Rescott each scoring once. Meg Ryan handed out two assists.
“The girls never gave up,” Porter said. “It was nice to see them fight right to the end. We’ll get some things right and we’ll fix the little things we need to. We will certainly to better our next game. The best thing was we did get a game in and it was good because it was a non-league game. It’s good to see what we can do offensively and defensively.”
Homer will host Jamesville-DeWitt Monday in a 6:30 p.m. non-league match-up. The JVs take the field in the 5 p.m. preliminary game.
HOMER JVs played well for their first game of the season, but dropped a 14-11 decision to Auburn. The Trojans were down by one at the half then went back and forth with Auburn for lead throughout the second half.
“Karly Roos came in as center and commanded draws from the circle, which made a big difference for our offensive,” Homer coach Geoff Sorenson said. “Possession is key in this game. It really has a huge impact on the outcome.
“The girls came together as a team to move the ball, but just couldn’t gain the lead in the last few minutes of the game,” he added.
Marissa Urban and Deede Partigianoni led the Homer offense with three goals each. Karly Roos added two goals with Molly Burhans, Jodi Maus and Maggie McLyman netting one goal each. Maggie McLyman, Roos and Burhans had one assist each. Trojan goalkeeper Kayley Sweeney made six saves.