ONONDAGA COUNTY – Though it proved far from easy and quite stressful, each of the West Genesee lacrosse teams would find their way to regular-season sweeps of Liverpool.
In the boys case, the Wildcats’ 8-7 victory over the Warriors reflected a will toughened by close defeats earlier this season and fortified by the fact that it won a similar game against Liverpool back on April 21.
Both sides played strong defense early, but in the second quarter WG outscored the Warriors 4-2 to take a 5-3 edge to the break.
Stepping up its own defense, Liverpool kept the Wildcats off the board in the third period, converting twice and getting back even, 5-5. That set up a tense stretch drive where WG would go back in front, and hang on.
WG featured six different goal-scorers, with only Liam Burns and Patrick Linton converting twice. Ryan Mahoney had one goal and one assist, while Nolan Bellotti, Charles Lockow and John Gianuzzi also had goals. River Oudemool picked up an assist.
Jackson Furr and Dom Osbeck each scored twice, Furr getting two assists and Osbeck one assist. Aaron Clouthier had one goal and one assist. Owen Michaud and Jalen Graham had the other goals and Owen Salanger made 16 saves, twice Desena’s total.
Encouraging as that performance was, what WG did two nights later at Mike Messere Field had to provide more momentum as it overcame a first-half shutout to beat Cicero-North Syracuse 9-8.
Looking to avenge an 11-7 defeat to the Wildcats in late April, C-NS was stingy throughout the first two quarters, keeping WG off the board, but not taking full advantage of this, only building a 4-0 advantage.
So with goals by Burns, Linton, Bellotti and Mahoney, the Wildcats, in the third quarter, managed to cut the deficit in half, to 6-4. Then, in the final period, it made up the rest of the ground.
Burns and Jack Mellen combined for all five goals in that stretch. Lockwood helped out with a pair of assists as Mahoney, Linton and Belotti also got assists.
In girls lacrosse, West Genesee, who lost May 7 against Skaneateles, was in trouble against visiting Liverpool but recovered late to beat the Warriors 12-10.
Fired up at the outset, Liverpool grabbed a 3-0 advantage, and then, when WG threatened, restored the margin until it the Wildcats trailed 7-3 in the waning moments of the first half.
Here, though, WG’s defense clamped down and kept the Warriors off the board for more than 10 minutes as it pulled even, 7-7. An exchange of goals followed until, at 9-9, consecutive goals by Julia Miller, Reis Pagan and Sophia Snyder gave WG the lead for good.
Miller scored three times overall as Olivia Blanding had two goals and three assists. Pagan added two goals as Olivia Lockwood, Rylee Gonzalez, Courtney Reynolds and Ally Major had one goal apiece. Major had two assists.
Mia Berthoff netted three goals for Liverpool as Maggie Tifft, Gianna Carbone and Addyson Graham had two goals apiece, but Allie Hanlon’s 11 saves helped the Wildcats prevail.
Another close game followed, against Cicero-North Syracuse on Thursday night, but the Wildcats lost 8-6 to the Northstars, a score nearly identical to its 7-5 defeat in late April.
Reynolds scored twice in the first half, helped by goals from Miller and Gonzalez, and WG led 4-3 at the break. Even when C-NS went on a 3-0 run early in the second half, Reynolds and Gonzalez answered it.
But after Gonzalez’s tying goal with 16:34 left, the Wildcats were shut out. C-NS scored twice in the late going and prevailed, overcoming 12 saves from Hanlon.
