Just at the right time, the Skaneateles boys lacrosse team was hitting peak form, and people were taking notice as the Lakers sneaked into the no. 20 spot in the state Class C rankings.
Having that ranking was nice – but backing it up was better, and Skaneateles did so in last Tuesday night’s game at Hyatt Stadium, where it used a strong mid-game surge to upend state no. 11-ranked Westhill by a score of 12-10.
At one point this spring, the Warriors were as high as no. 6 in the rankings before defeats to Cazenovia and Marcellus. Yet it looked, in the early going, as if Westhill would bounce back, shaking off goals by Owen Kuhns and Alex Dunn to lead the Lakers 4-2 after one period.
But early in the second quarter, Skaneateles took off as Kuhns, Tyler Strods and Cullen McGlynn put in consecutive goals to put the home side in front 5-4. From there, an exchange of goals covered the rest of the half, with Jack Dawley and Sam Duggan converting to help Skaneateles go to the break tied with Westhill, 7-7.
The third quarter would prove pivotal. An improving Laker defense, anchored by goalie Kyle Oschner (who made six saves), kept the Warriors in check.
On the other end, Strods scored twice, giving him three for the night, with Duggan and Connor Hill adding goals, and Skaneateles took an 11-8 lead to the final period, where Hill scored again and the Lakers held off the Warriors’ late charge.
Good as that performance was, it paled next to what the Lakers would do two nights later as it managed to cool down high-flying, state no. 11-ranked Christian Brothers Academy with a tremendous all-around effort that led to a 14-9 victory over the Brothers.
Having smashed Marcellus 18-7 earlier in the week, CBA, the state’s no. 11-ranked team, got the game’s first goal. But that proved to help the Lakers because, perhaps, it led the Brothers to think that it would be just as productive as it was against Marcellus.
But the Lakers soon proved otherwise, rattling off five straight goals – two of them by Kuhns, one each by Strods, McGlynn and Collin Foehl, before the first quarter was done, and for the rest of the night CBA was in catch-up mode.
Though CBA did close the gap to 5-3 by the second quarter, it soon saw the Lakers regain its footing and gain an 8-4 edge by halftime. Just as damaging was what happened in the third quarter, where Skaneateles quieted down, but CBA could not take full advantage.
A tough, aggressive Laker defense never let the Brothers get comfortable, holding its top scorer, Andrew Romagnoli to just one goal and no assist, and also limiting Jack Zerillo and Braedon Gait to single tallies.
Only Brunner, with four goals, and Jack Jeschke, with two goals, found the net multiple times. Oschner made 12 saves, twice the total of CBA counterpart Andrew Koscs.
Meanwhile, Skaneateles would double up the Brothers, 14-7, at one point in the fourth quarter, Kuhns leading the effort as he finished with four goals and three assists, while Strods got three goals and one assist.
Duggan and Dawley each found the net twice, with McGlynn and Mark Goetzmann each earning one goal and one assist.
Once inconsistent, Skanateles (10-4) is playing its best lacrosse of the season, something it will need when it visits unbeaten, state no. 1-ranked Cazenovia in Monday night’s Laker showdown.
