If there’s such a thing as perfect timing for a defeat, the Cazenovia boys lacrosse team found it.
The state Class C no. 3-ranked Lakers had won 11 consecutive games before visiting Fayetteville-Manlius last Tuesday night, but that win streak vanished in an exciting, back-and-forth battle not decided until the final second, where the Hornets prevailed 12-11.
For much of the spring, F-M, the reigning Section III Class A champions, had struggled, going through a long series of defeats, none of them by more than four goals.
But the Hornets had gone to West Genesee and stunned the Wildcats, 7-6, in overtime on May 5, and exactly one week later set out to spring another surprise on Cazenovia following a 24-hour weather postponement.
With a quick start, the Lakers led, 5-3, after one period, but it could not follow up on that early production, F-M chipping away until it had closed the gap to 8-7 at halftime.
Then both defenses settled in, especially that of the Hornets, who held Cazenovia to one goal in the third quarter and forged a 9-9 tie, setting up a dynamic finish.
They were still even, 10-10, when P.J. Brown put in his fourth goal of the game with one minute left. Unfazed by this, F-M tied its seconds later, won the ensuing face-off and then, with less than a second to play, saw Mac Fish rip a shot past Cazenovia goalie Brenden Whalen to win it.
Whalen still finished with 12 saves. Cole Willard helped Brown with three goals and one assist, while Jake Stowell scored twice. Alex Hunt and Derek White had the other goals as Jake Lewis got two assists.
Dylan Taylor-Wolford, who scored the OT game-winner at West Genesee, led F-M this time with three goals, the same amount that he had against the Wildcats. Eric Badger and Donovan Welsh joined Fish in scoring twice, and Hornets goalie Brian Charlamb had 10 saves.
Unhappy with this result, Cazenovia rebounded against Jordan-Elbridge a day later, hammering the Eagles 10-3 in the regular-season finale, but even this game was 2-2 before a 7-0 second-quarter surge decided matters.
Lewis and Stowell both notched three-goal hat tricks, with Lewis adding an assist. Brown and Willard both scored twice as White also contributed an assist.
When the Section III playoff pairings were announced, Class C had 16 teams in it – meaning that Cazenovia, as the top seed, would have to play a first-round game Saturday against no. 16 seed Clinton.
It proved a mismatch, the Lakers dismantling the Warriors 21-1 as it put up nine unanswered goals in the first quarter, stretched its margin to 15-0 by halftime and was using the entire roster while the clock ran the entire second half.
Fourteen different players had at least one goal, with Teddy Dwyer leading the way, scoring three times and adding two assists. Willard and Stowell both had two goals and two assists, with Hunt, Brown and Anthony Vecchiarelli also finding the net twice.
Lewis and Noah Nash both ended up with a goal and two assists. Peter Burr, Cooper Coleman, Teo Lang, Dylan Hahn, Brady Flannery and Jake Wozniak notched goals, too.
This advanced Cazenovia to Wednesday’s Class C quarterfinal at the Sean Googin Sports Complex against no. 9 seed Marcellus, who beat no. 8 seed Tully 16-11 in its first-round game.
The winner here goes to Saturday’s semifinal at East Syracuse Minoa against no. 4 seed South Jefferson or no. 5 seed Skaneateles, with the final on May 27 at the Carrier Dome.
