Each time it takes the field, the Christian Brothers Academy boys lacrosse team aims to entertain, even if defense gets pushed aside.

Syracuse’s CBA side met Albany’s CBA side last Monday night at Alibrandi Stadium, and once again it proved wild – but the home side came out on top, 24-16, for its fourth consecutive win.

The game had a sweet and emotional back story to it, too. Albany CBA graduate Torey Williams, a member of the Class of 2012, passed away on April 6 in a motorcycle accident, and the subsequent memorial service kept that team from making a full weekend trip to the Buffalo area for games against St. Francis and St. Joseph’s.

Instead, the St. Francis game on April 12 was cancelled, the St. Joseph’s game was played a day later, on April 14 (Albany CBA lost) and Syracuse CBA offered to fill in for St. Francis.

Not only that, but before the game coach Ric Beardsley gave each of his players a no. 3 sticker for their helmets, since that Torey Williams wore no. 3 when he played at Albany CBA. They also “retired” the no. 3 jersey for the night and took a team picture together before play started.

The game itself was pretty fun, too. Albany CBA did a lot of offensive damage, but it could not keep up with Syracuse CBA’s blistering pace as five different players had more than five points.

Jack Zerillo, with six goals and two assists, and Alex Brunner, with five goals and four assists, led the way, though Cody Radziewicz was close behind, matching Brunner’s five goals and adding two assists.

Braedon Gait set a season mark as he scored four times, with Andrew Romagnoli adding two goals and three assists. Joe Kelley and Joey Pascarella both had two assists as Kelley, J.R. Zazzara and Sam Martin had single goals. Andrew Koscus, bombarded all night in goal, still made 12 saves.

Exciting back-to-back games followed on the weekend, starting on Friday, where the Brothers’ defense in the first half proved valuable in a 17-11 victory over Jordan-Elbridge.

CBA, who was no. 7 in the latest edition of the state Class C rankings, held the Eagles to just two goals in the first two periods. Thus, it gave the attack ample time to find its high gear, which it did during a wild second half where it matched every J-E charge with one of its own to stay in front.

Zerillo and Romagnoli both finished with five goals, as Zerillo got three assists and Romagnoli two assists. Radziewicz fed both of them with five assists to go with his pair of tallies as Gait stepped up with two goals and one assist. Brunner had a goal and two assists, while Zazzara and Jeschke had matching totals of one goal and one assist.

Less than 24 hours later, CBA was at Tully, going through one of its closest calls so far, but still hanging on to beat the Black Knights 15-13 for its sixth win in a row.

With a steady effort on both ends, the Brothers followed the J-E formula, almost too well, as it doubled up Tully and led 8-4 at halftime.

But the Black Knights roared through the third period, cutting CBA’s margin to 8-7 and keeping pace through a wild, back-and-forth final quarter. Still, the Brothers held on, helped by the work of goalie Andrew Koscos, who had 11 saves.

Radziewicz backed up his four goals with three assists, while Zerillo also found the net four times. Romagnoli, with three goals and three assists, and Brunner, with two goals and four assists, added further depth and balance, while Jeschke got the other two goals and Zazzara had three assists. Nate Doody led Tully, exactly matching Radziewicz with four goals and three assists.

CBA would put that six-game win streak on the line Tuesday at LaFayette less than two weeks after edging them 13-11 at Alibrandi on April 11, with a game against Manlius-Pebble Hill on Thursday the last hurdle before the April 30 showdown against state no. 2-ranked Cazenovia.