Constant turnover of rosters is inevitable in high school sports, but the Baldwinsville boys lacrosse team is undergoing a full makeover in 2008.
Gone are nine starters from the Bees team that, a season ago, made it all the way to the Section III Class A final before falling to West Genesee, going 16-5 in the process.
Forwards Jack Venditti (an All-American selection), Jeremy Boltus and Cam Davoy departed, as did midfielders Justin Tierney, Corey Bulken and Mitch Collins, plus defenders Jack Korzyp, Tim Honsinger and Mike Perkins.
Only goalie Jordan Marra is a returning starter for head coach Peter Fiorini, who had to get his new lineup ready in a hurry for the Bees’ season opener against Westhill last Tuesday night at Henninger High School’s Sunnycrest Field.
At least for one game, the new lineup clicked enough to dominate against the Warriors as B’ville prevailed by a score of 12-3.
Two distinct challenges marked this game — a constant 30 mile-per-hour win from the south that caused the light towers at Sunnycrest to sway, plus the usual opening-game jitters that lead to turnovers and other mistakes.
Fighting through these problems, the Bees built a 4-0 edge in the first quarter, then sealed the outcome by getting three goals in a span of 1:03 early in the third period.
Ryan McMahon and Billy Ward might take over the roles of primary offensive threats that Venditti and Boltus held in recent years. McMahon and Ward both finished with four goals against Westhill, with McMahon adding three assists and Ward two assists.
Evan States emerged as a deft passer, earning a team-best four assists as Kaisch Wheeler, Tim Hayden, Sean Tivnan and Tyler Brown came up with the other B’ville goals. Marra finished with 18 saves, two more than Westhill counterpart D.J. Eckert.
B’ville gets it first taste of Class A opposition Wednesday night when it visits Cicero-North Syracuse (another team dealing with big graduation losses), just before Friday’s home opener against Liverpool.
