When torn knee ligaments sent Taylor Gait and Natasha Grant to the sidelines early this month, the forecast for the Christian Brothers Academy girls lacrosse team appeared as gloomy as the rain that has accompanied so much of this spring. Yet the Brothers, who returned to the top of the state Class C rankings this week, shook off these potentially damaging setbacks and came close to sweeping Marcellus and Skaneateles, considered its two main adversaries in the race for the Section III Class C championship. In the first half of that two-day gauntlet, CBA put together, arguably, its best effort of the season last Wednesday night by going to Marcellus and taking over in the second half to beat the state Class C no. 3-ranked Mustangs 15-9. Remembering that it had lost 12-11 to Marcellus back on April 14 at Alibrandi, CBA showed aggression and confidence right from the start. It broke a 2-2 tie midway through the first half with four straight goals, Webster scoring twice and earning an assist as Sophie Racciatti and Marisa Romeo also converted. Marcellus called a time-out and regrouped, closing within 7-6 by halftime and tying it up early in the second half on Ellen Brooks’ goal. From there, though, the Brothers would dominate. It began in the draw circle, where Racciatti constantly won the battle for the ball. It continued with a relentless attack that saw Poplawski, who assumed more midfield and defensive duties in the absence of Gait and Grant, score all three of her goals after the break. And it also included a defense, led by Laena Frechette, Julia Nass and Ellie Kelley, that would hold the Mustangs without a goal for nearly 12 minutes as Courtney Henderson excelled, too, recording nine saves. CBA held Florida-bound senior Nora Barry to just three goals, one in the second half. All told, Racciatti had three goals and four assists, while Webster found the net four times and Kara Dell’uomo stepped up with two goals and two assists. Just 24 hours later, Skaneateles arrived at Alibrnadi, bent on its own revenge after the Brothers beat them in an 11-10, four-overtime epic on April 19, Gait earning the game-winner on a free-position shot. With neither Gait nor Grant on the field to alter things this time, Skaneateles tore up CBA for a long portion of the game, only to hold off a furious late comeback to subdue the Brothers 13-11. Even as the teams played to an early 3-3 stalemate, Skaneateles was displaying the same kind of qualities – speed, hustle, ability to finish – that CBA had shown to Marcellus the day before. And that started to make a difference when the Lakers reeled off five straight goals late in the first half. In fact, by halftime Skaneateles had as much on the board (10) as it did the entire first meeting, and it got more lopsided early in the second half as another run of three straight goals left CBA staring at a 13-5 deficit. Instead of easing up and getting ready for the playoffs, though, the Brothers picked up its own intensity and, midway through the second half, began to rally. Dell’uomo, Racciatti and Romeo scored to make it 13-8, forcing Skaneateles to use a time-out. Still, CBA kept charging, as goals by Poplawski and Michelle Wiese made it 13-10 with more than seven minutes to play. For a time, the Lakers were successful in running off some clock, and that proved valuable when Romeo’s third goal with 1:47 left cut the margin to two. Carly Davis ran down the ensuing draw, and the Lakers were able to eat up the remaining clock. Romeo and Poplawski both had three-goal hat tricks, with Racciatti finding the net twice. All of Henderson’s five saves came in the second half as Shelby McNeilly (four goals), Emma Ford (three goals) and Erin Callahan (two goals, three assists) led the Skaneateles effort.