On a warm Friday evening at the start of June, the Baldwinsville boys lacrosse team will have an opportunity to unseat a dynasty — and end its own 15-year exile from the top of the Section III Class A ranks.
The Bees will meet five-time defending champion West Genesee at Central Square, this following a pair of semifinals played Tuesday at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium.
B’ville played what amounted to a road game against no. 2 seed CNS in one semifinal.
Up by six early, and by four in the fourth quarter, B’ville nearly squandered both leads, but held on to beat the Northstars 12-11.
There was little question as to which team was more alert at the start. With its offense clicking, the Bees tore to a 7-1 lead early in the second quarter.
Only at that point did CNS start to stir, but it only took a small portion of the Bees’ margin away as the teams went to halftime with B’ville in front, 8-3.
Flying out of the gate in the second half (in a way it didn’t do earlier), CNS went on a furious run and trimmed the Bees’ lead to two, 9-7, in less than seven minutes of play.
Absorbing that blow, B’ville’s defense settled down, allowing the attack to find its early form. When Cam Davoy put in his third goal to finish off a fast break with 8:22 to play, the Bees had restored its lead to 12-8.
In the final minute, with the score 12-9, CNS made one more charge, as James Haney scored with 44 seconds left and Jeff Gilbert found the net with 12 seconds to play. Only when Corey Bulken won the ensuing face-off was the Bees’ trip to the finals secured.
Davoy helped take some pressure off Jack Venditti, who still had two goals and three assists. But Jeremy Boltus remained a central figure, scoring five times and adding two assists, as Bulken added a goal and Justin Tierney earned one goal and two assists.
CNS (who finished the season 14-5) again relied on Haney, who had five goals after the seven he put up in the quarterfinals against Liverpool. Gilbert, with two goals and two assists, was the only other multiple scorer as Nick Lococo earned one goal and three assists. Jamie Praino finished with 16 saves, four more than B’ville counterpart Jordan Marra.
Later that night, the Wildcats breezed through the latest chapter of its ancient rivalry with Fayetteville-Manlius, mostly relying on a first-half blitz to beat the Hornets 15-5.
On the same turf where it rallied past F-M in last year’s riveting Class A final, the game this time was far less suspenseful.
By the time the first quarter was done, WG already had a 5-0 lead, and that steady, relentless attack helped build the margin to 9-1 by halftime.
Add that to a defensive line that stifled anything F-M tried to create (just as it had in their May 8 meeting at Coyne Field), and John Galloway’s strong work in the net (he had 15 saves), and the Wildcats could relax in the late going.
Collin Donahue backed up his three-goal hat trick with three assists, as Joe Pompo also found the net three times and Brian Donahue had two goals as part of a deep attack where 10 different Wildcat players scored.
Luke Cometti, Tim Desko, Aaron Printup, Jack Kennedy, Tim Besio, Ben Waldron and Kevin Wadach each notched single goals. F-M, in defeat, got two goals from Anthony Krizman as its season ended with a record of 14-5, the same as CNS.
West Genesee and Baldwinsville met twice in the regular season, and though the Wildcats won them both, the Bees were as competitive as anyone has been to WG this spring, which adds some intrigue to a final where the men of Camillus are a heavy favorite.
