Those lamenting the recent struggles of the Jordan-Elbridge boys lacrosse team have a bigger reason to smile now.
The Eagles got its biggest win in a long time last Tuesday night, venturing to Marcellus and surprising the Mustangs 10-8.
J-E was 2-0, coming off wins over Lowville and Homer that, while nice, hardly gave any future opponent a reason to worry.
Meanwhile, the Mustangs were 3-0, having beaten Homer, Central Square and Iroquois in the opening week.
Right away, J-E displayed its intentions, matching every Marcellus burst in the first quarter and producing a 4-4 tie. Though the Mustangs inched in front 6-5 by halftime, the game was far from settled.
Sure enough, the Eagles caught up in the third period and, with Tom Guadagnolo and his teammates providing excellent defense and Ken Bush earning eight saves, J-E held Marcellus to two second-half goals and pulled ahead in the late going.
Joe Poppe and R.J. Metz spearheaded the Eagles’ attack, each of them recording three-goal hat tricks. Kory Smart and Brian Belcher had matching totals of one goal and one assist, while Guadagnolo and James Hohm had the other goals.
The Mustangs’ Mike McSweeney had five goals and one assist, but got little help. Kevin Merriman had a modest total of one goal and two assists, a figure Jeff Watson matched.
J-E is slated to visit Watertown on Saturday at 11 a.m.
