When the Bishop Ludden and Jordan-Elbridge boys lacrosse teams squared off on a hot Saturday afternoon, it marked the third time in five days that each of them had played.
And while plenty of fatigue could be shown, the two sides also put on a terrific contest, not decided until the final seconds as the Gaelic Knights earned a 10-9 victory over the Eagles.
Despite a 2-6 record, J-E did not find itself overwhelmed by 5-2 Ludden, even in a first half where the Gaelic Knights fought its way to a 6-4 lead.
Doubling its output in the third period, the Eagles tied it, 8-8, forcing Ludden to find its own reserves of resolve in a tough fourth quarter. Ludden won that period, 2-1, and by doing so, also won the game.
Brad Kirch led the Gaelic Knights, scoring four times. Sean Connors had two goals and two assists, with Dave Pierce (two goals, one assist) and Sean Byrne (one goal, two assists) each landing three points. Colin Lynch had one goal and one assist. Each of Shawn Lynch’s 11 saves proved important.
Jeff Guadagnolo led the J-E second-half rally, producing his own three-goal hat trick. Tyler Richardson scored twice, with Brian Murray, Cody Lewis, Abe Patrick and Zack Stevenson landing one goal apiece. Josh Livingston gained three assists as Dylan Johnson added one assist.
Before seeing each other, the Gaelic Knight and Eagles both stayed busy, with the results proving quite mixed.
Ludden had to face “Holy War” rival Christian Brothers Academy last Tuesday night and fell to the Brothers 14-8.
In an active first half, the Gaelic Knights proved productive, but CBA set a torrid pace and led, 10-6, at the break. When the wind kicked up in the second half, both teams struggled, and Ludden couldn’t catch up.
Conners, in defeat, had two goals and two assists. Sean Sobotka, Colin Lynch and Kirch added further balance with two goals apiece, while Brendan Hodgens added an assist. CBA featured Nate Frechette and Casey Lasda, each of whom had four goals and two assists.
But the Gaelic Knights made a nice recovery on Thursday night, going to Marcellus and beating the Mustangs 14-10.
Through an evenly played first half, neither side made a big move. But that all changed in the third quarter, when Ludden dominated the faceoffs and torched the Marcellus defense with a 7-1 outburst, something Marcellus could not overcome.
Conners, with six goals and one assist, proved tough to stop as Sobotka got three goals and one assist and Kirch added two goals and four assists. Colin Lynch had a goal and two assists as Hodgens and Scott Cizenski scored, too.
J-E ran right into defending Class C champion Skaneateles last Tuesday and struggled on the offensive side in a 9-2 loss to the Lakers.
Mainly, the Eagles’ issue was the way it couldn’t clear the ball out of its own end. Forced to defend, J-E needed Connor Smart to make 26 saves to keep the team close for a while.
When it did attack, only Richardson and Murray managed goals, with Stevenson adding an assist. Kyle Baier led Skaneateles (no. 4 in the state Class C rankings) with three goals.
Two days later, the Eagles got overwhelmed in the first half of a 15-3 loss to LaFayette, the state’s no. 3-ranked Class C squad.
During those 24 minutes, the Lancers rolled over J-E and built a 13-1 margin as Gehnew Printup gained five goals and three assists, while highly-touted sophomore Miles Thompson took on a supporting role and earned four assists.
In the rare cases where J-E did get on the board, Devon McCarthy, Guadagnolo and Patrick took turns scoring. Smart finished with 12 saves.
