Cincinnatus will face a familiar foe in a familiar setting with a Section III title on the line Saturday.
The top-seeded Lions will take on No. 3 Bishop Ludden at 6 p.m. Saturday at SUNY Cortland, but this time it’s the Class C crown that’s on the line. Cincinnatus beat the Gaelic Knights 1-0 in the Class D final last season, with Cassia Schuyler scoring a late goal to lead the Lions to victory.
Cincinnatus made the finals by beating No. 16 Stockbridge Valley 8-0, No. 8 Frankfort-Schuyler 2-1 and No. 5 Tully 7-1. Schuyler has six goals and three assists in the postseason, while Ava Larrabee has added four goals and two assists and Payton Landers has three goals and three assists.
Bishop Ludden has topped No. 14 Sandy Creek 8-1, No. 6 Beaver River 1-0 in overtime and No. 7 Westmoreland 2-1 in double overtime. Evelyn Allers and Jane Fallon have each recorded points in the Gaelic Knights’ last two games, but Ashley Pawelczyk leads the team in points with 24 goals and 16 assists.
Cincinnatus head coach Lisa Sustad has done her research on the 2024 Bishop Ludden team and feels it’s very comparable to the 2023 squad.
“I think Ludden’s team didn’t change and we are very happy with Makayla Mills coming back to us,” Sustad said.
Cincinnatus and Bishop Ludden have a few similar opponents, with the Lions faring better against them. Cincinnatus beat Skaneateles 3-0, edged out Fabius-Pompey 1-0 and beat Tully twice by a combined score of 13-1. Bishop Ludden lost 2-1 to Skaneateles, split its season set with Fabius-Pompey and beat Tully 2-1.
Sustad feels the key to victory will be having a self-focused mindset and not playing how the Gaelic Knights want.
“Hopefully we are healthy,” Sustad said. “We have to play our game and not get caught up in the boom ball.”
“At this point, the girls know how to play and we will focus on the mental part of the game,” Sustad added. “The girls will work hard and they really want to win.”
