As the Section 3 girl’s high school lacrosse season gets underway, all eyes are on the players who have the potential to shape the outcome of matches. Here’s what to know about Homer High School and Cortland High School players this season.
Cortland Tiger’s senior Valerosa Gambitta is the standout player to watch as the Tigers gear up for the upcoming season. With an impressive career total of 56 goals, including 43 goals during her sophomore season alone, the talented midfielder’s skill is undeniable and remains a constant threat on the field. In just two seasons, Gambitta’s career totals are 56 goals, 11 assists, 44 ground balls, and 43 draw controls.
Gambitta’s standout performances during her 2023 season include the Tigers game against Mexico, where she tallied a high of seven goals. Despite the Tigers facing challenges last season, ending with a record of 6-10, Gambitta’s performance offers hope for an exciting season. With her 43 goals in the 2023 season, Gambitta accumulated 6 goals, 30 ground balls, and 30 draw controls. Gambitta also scored in 13 out of the Tiger’s 18 games during their 2023 season.
Tigers head coach Paige Potter told syracuse.com, “We are a very young team. We graduated eight, so we have a lot of young players. We’re going to be building a lot on basic concepts and once we get good at those, we can build and be successful against our competition.”
Despite being only a sophomore, Homer High School’s Ella Spanbauer is a player to watch this season. Spanbauer has already left an impression after her performance during her freshman season, accumulating a total of 24 goals. Along with 24 goals, her career totals are one assist, six ground balls, and 14 draw controls. Spanbauer scored in eight out of the Trojan’s eighteen games in their 2023 season.
Another key player to watch from the Trojans program is junior Maria Partis. Partis scored in 13 out of the 18 games of their 2023 season with 27 goals. Partis also had two assists, 20 ground balls, and 31 draw controls. With just being a member of the program for two years, Partis’ career total is already 60 goals, 15 assists, 25 ground balls, and 36 draw controls.
As the Trojans aim to improve upon their previous season’s performance, marked by a 4-12 record, Spanbauer and Partis will hopefully lead the charge offering a positive turnaround and outcome for the Trojans this 2024 season.
Homer co-coach Morgan Seibel told syracuse.com, “We didn’t lose any seniors, so I would just say our focus is going to be just bringing back the full team that we had last year. And what’s awesome is we already feel like we’re several steps ahead because we have the same girls coming back to fill the same roles that they were playing last year. We’re excited to see how that dynamic fits again and how those pieces fall into place.”