Cicero-North Syracuse engaged in a thrilling one-goal contest with Fayetteville-Manlius early on in the season.
There would be no such theatrics in the rematch.
The Northstars jumped out to a commanding lead and coasted to a 16-11 victory over the Hornets on Tuesday.
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"We weren't really sure what happened in that last game," C-NS coach Stephanie Prentice said. "We were all looking at each other like 'What's going on?' We just focused on what we needed to do to fix the things that didn't work in the first game."
One of the keys to the early lead was getting the Northstars' stars in a rhythm. Sophia Nesci and Elizabeth Smith, the team's leading scorers all season, combined for six of nine C-NS goals in the first quarter.
F-M was not able to recover from its six-goal deficit in the first quarter. The Hornets were kept at arm's length by the Northstars the rest of the way.
Smith put together a career-best performance with seven goals. That mark eclipsed her previous season-high of four.
Nesci tallied five goals to go along with a whopping six assists. The senior's 11 points were also a career-high total.
"The poise and trust that they have in each other made it possible," Prentice said.
C-NS found success through more than just its attack. The Northstars thrived in the draw circle. Senior Gabrielle Putman led a group that racked up 26 draw controls compared to just five for the Hornets.
On the other side, Jane Ryan paced F-M's offense with a team-high three goals.
The first matchup between these teams resulted in a 10-9 victory for C-NS back on April 24. The Northstars have come away victorious in their last seven clashes with the Hornets.
C-NS has not lost a game in over a month. The Northstars remain unbeaten in sectional play.
C-NS (13-1) takes on Baldwinsville on Thursday for the first of back-to-back contests.
"We really just take it one game at a time," Prentice said. "We'll just continue to do that. The girls always have a good mindset going into every game — that we're going to win."
F-M (8-6) hosts West Genesee on Thursday. The Hornets narrowly escaped with a 15-13 win in their first matchup with the Wildcats.
