A slew of defeats – some close, others not so much – had the Liverpool boys lacrosse team in what looked like a vulnerable position.

True, the Warriors were defending Section III Class A champions, about to see whether it could repeat as the sectional playoffs loomed. But it had to face 9-6 Cicero-North Syracuse Tuesday night at LHS Stadium, another side looking for a signature victory to build on.

Needing a strong, confident performance, Liverpool (10-6) got it, taking apart the rival Northstars and not letting up until it had recorded a 12-4 victory and reminded everyone why wresting the crown from the Warriors won’t be that easy.

They had met long ago, in the March 27 season opener at Bragman Stadium, Liverpool hanging on to beat C-NS 7-6 in the closing seconds, but the rematch would not be as close.

First, it was Liverpool’s zone defense, anchored by the Springer brothers (Dustin and Dillon), that got C-NS in trouble, pitching a first-quarter shutout.

Then Liverpool’s attack took over, building upon a 2-0 lead with constant pressure and conversions and expanding the margin to 7-2 by the time they reached the break.

C-NS lost its best chance to catch up in the third quarter, when it held the Warriors to a single goal, but got blanked again, and so it was 8-2 as Liverpool breezed through the stretch.

By himself, Jamie Kuppel outscored the Northstars, picking up five goals in his last regular-season home game, while Harry Sardella managed a three-goal hat trick.

Peter Flood had a goal and two assists, while Dom Castiglia added one goal and one assist. Justin Renk and Matt Sala had the other goals as Kendall Keahey added an assist. Dominick Madonna put away nine saves.

In defeat, the Northstars saw Konner Bick earn two goals, while Tyler Griffo and Zach Debottis had single tallies and Tyler Heldt got held to one assist. Bryan Schenk and Zach Sheridan combined to make 13 saves in the net.