Before it could test itself once more against the best in Central New York, the West Genesee boys l lacrosse team first had to restore some of the momentum squandered in early-season defeats to Fayetteville-Manlius and Liverpool.

For a while, it worked, the Wildcats claiming three straight wins – but that streak was broken Saturday night, when Section V power Fairport came to Camillus and, rallying from behind, the Red Raiders pulled off a 9-8 overtime victory.

At one point in the third quarter, WG had a 7-4 lead, getting most of its production from Tom Pritchard and Ryan St. Croix, who would finish with three goals apiece. Ted Glesener and David Procopio would notch the other goals.

But again the Wildcats’ attack started to sputter, giving Fairport a chance to fight back and tie it, 7-7, going to the fourth quarter. Both teams managed just one goal in the final period.

That led to overtime, where the Red Raiders gained possession and worked the ball around until Jay Daheiner, taking a pass from Max Gerling, stuffed a shot past goalie Matt Koziol (who finished with 10 saves) inside the top right corner of the net to end the game.

An April 6 win over visiting Loyola (Chicago) had started the climb back, and the Wildcats followed that up by going to Corcoran last Tuesday and shutting down the Cougars in a 10-3 victory.

But it still wasn’t that easy. WG, in fact, was tied with Corcoran 1-1 until it moved in front during the second quarter. And it finally pulled clear by blanking the Cougars in the third period while expanding its margin to 7-2.

Pritchard, by himself, outscored Corcoran as he found the net four times, with Dan Ginestro producing three goals and two assists. Brady Hoose got two goals and three assists as Mark Niechcial earned the other goal. St. Croix and Tyler Brown each had one assist.

Back home on Thursday night, WG took on Syracuse East and, finally, got a chance to unleash most of its attack on an opponent, not letting up until it had recorded an impressive 21-3 victory.

This was not done in one single burst. The Wildcats started by dominating in the face-off circle and turned those increased possessions into goals. It led 5-0 after one period and continued to roll the rest of the half, expanding the margin to 12-1.

It was 17-1 by the fourth quarter, and through it all St. Croix was particularly strong, amassing four goals and dishing out five assists, while Hoose had three goals and three assists and Ginestro added two goals and four assists.

Brad Howes also had a three-goal hat trick, with Pat Hanley and Adam Higginbotham close behind as they both scored twice. Brown, Niechcial, Glesener and Matt Milne each had one goal as Pritchard earned three assists and Sean Marks two assists.

The defeat to Fairport left the Wildcats at 4-3 as it mostly rested through this week and prepared for Saturday’s home clash with defending Class B champion Jamesville-DeWitt.