To call the Skaneateles boys lacrosse team’s 12-6 victory last Tuesday over Marcellus a smooth affair would not be too accurate.
Any time the long-time rivals collide, it tends to be physical and contentious. This time around, the rough play caused the Lakers to be rattled a bit before it reclaimed control in the second half.
Buoyed by some strong saves from goalie Josh Kimm on the defensive side, Skaneateles took charge in the first quarter. Eric Richards and Oliver Moore both scored, and Patrick Emmer tacked on a pair of tallies late in the period to make it 4-0, and Marcellus just hoped to stay in touch.
But then Emmer got caught with an illegal stick, forcing Skaneateles to be a man down for the first three minutes of the second quarter.
That proved to be the first of a long series of penalties that forced the Lakers to play short-handed for much of the period, and Marcellus took full advantage. Sean Conley, Greg Ramsden, Evan Hughes and Sean Connors all scored to help make up the deficit, and Connors returned to net the tying goal. Conley converted with 50 seconds left in the half.
Thus, a big deficit turned into a 6-5 halftime lead for the Mustangs, a development that did not please the Laker coaches, who lit into the players at halftime.
It took less than two minutes in the third quarter for Nathan Hunt and Keith Buehler to score, putting Sknaeateles back in front for good. And now the Mustangs lost its poise, committing a series of penalties, including two personal fouls that forced Jeff Watson out of the game late in the period.
As this was going on, Skaneateles pulled away, led by Emmer and Moore, each of whom had three-goal hat tricks. Tom Schoener scored twice, as Buehler, Richards, Hunt and Kelly Donigan got single goals and Kyle Baier earned three assists.
Helped by Watson’s departure, the Lakers’ defense kept Marcellus off the board in the entire second half, with Kimm eventually gaining 18 saves. His Mustang counterpart, Marcus Giarusso, had 13 saves.
Skaneateles goes to Jordan-Elbridge on Thursday afternoon as Marcellus meets Homer that night.
