CAMILLUS – At West Genesee, lacrosse tradition is defined by the vast array of championships the boys and girls Wildcats have earned over the course of two generations.
Whether it continues in 2022 will depend on how both sets of Wildcats deal with the direction from two new head coaches with deep ties to the school and competition in a new class once the post-season rolls around.
WG’s boys team tapped Eric Burns to replace Shaun Smith as its head coach last summer, with Jim St. Croix as an assistant coach. Ever since, coaches and players have put in an all-out effort to improve from a 2021 side that only produced a 6-11 record last spring.
Meanwhile, the girls Wildcats have Shannon Burke-Musak at the helm, assisted by Kelly Fucillo. Both were players on some of WG’s state championship teams, with Burke-Musak part of three consecutive state titles in the mid-2000s.
Having assisted at rival Fayetteville-Manlius before returning to Camillus, Burke-Musak brought plenty of energy and enthusiasm to off-season and pre-season workouts as the Wildcats got ready for a tough early slate.
While still playing in the Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division, both of WG’s teams are now in Class B for sectional and state playoff purposes, meaning they will again challenge the likes of F-M for championship honors.
In the meantime, the season got underway, with the boys Wildcats going first on Wednesday and prevailing 14-8 over Section II’s Ballston Spa in Burns’ coaching debut.
Both sides started slowly, but an active second quarter saw WG outscore Ballston Spa 6-4 to take an 8-5 lead to the break. Then the defenses took over until the final period, when the Wildcats found its offensive rhythm again.
Closing on a 5-2 run, WG was led by Charles Lockwood, who scored five times and added an assist. Liam Burns and River Oudemool both got three goals, with Burns contributing a pair of assists.
Nolan Belotti got two goals and one assist. Jack Mellen had one goal and one assist as John Giannuzzi earned a pair of assists. Single assists went to Ryan Mahoney and Teshale Kelly.
A night later, a highly-anticipated girls lacrosse opener had WG against Westhill, who returned most of its lineup from a side that went to the sectional Class D final a season ago.
The game lived up to the anticipation, going back and forth all the way until overtime, when the Wildcats were able to squeeze out a 9-8 victory.
Heavy rain in the opening minutes quickly subsided, leading to a first half mostly ruled by the defenses and the fine work in goal by WG’s Allie Hanlon and Westhill’s Frannie Argentieri, who both made several quality stops.
Grace Winkler carried the Warriors’ attack most of the way, scoring twice in the first half and assisting on Kara Rosenberger’s goal that put Westhill up 4-3 just before halftime.
Then the Wildcats blanked the Warriors for the first 12 minutes of the second half, moving in front 6-4 before Westhill made its own 3-0 run, Winkler working her total to four goals in the process.
Courtney Reynolds’ third goal tied it, 7-7, and Rylee Gonzalez converted on a one-timed backhand shot with 2:55 left that gave WG an 8-7 lead, only to have Winkler tie it again on her fifth goal with exactly one minute to play.
Westhill had a chance to win it in reguilation, but WG’s defense prevented any shot. Then the Wildcats chased down the overtime ground ball and, 1:03 into the extra period, Reynolds’ free-position shot eluded Argentieri for the game-winner.
All told, Reynolds has four goals as Cara Major go a goal and two assists. Maria Snyder, Reis Pagan and Ally Major also scored, with Hanlon getting 16 saves, four more than Argentieri’s 12.
