This appeared to be the exact right moment for the Baldwinsville boys lacrosse team to take its shot at West Genesee.
The Bees were 3-0, having scored 60 goals in those three wins while displaying an attack that seemed close to unstoppable. WG, winners of the last eight Section III Class A titles, was 2-2, integrating eight new starters into its lineup and had already taken losses to Jamesville-DeWitt (at home) and Corcoran (in overtime).
All those appearances were quite deceptive, though.
Fired up on a frigid evening that even saw snow, the Wildcats blitzed the Bees in the first quarter, all but deciding matters as B’ville lost a 20-10 decision.
Never getting a chance to settle down, B’ville trailed 2-0 after just 34 seconds, due to goals by Bob Gasparini and John Glesener, and it was 4-0 before the game was three minutes old. B’ville had not yet won a face-off or had an offensive possession.
When it finally did get a chance to attack, B’ville scored twice in 10 seconds (Tom Lawrence and Billy Ward doing the honors), briefly cutting the margin to 4-2, but the Wildcats’ assault resumed seconds later when Gasparini scored again.
And it never let up until WG had built a 10-3 advantage at the end of the first quarter. For the rest of the night, B’ville would have some success putting in goals, but the Wildcats were too far ahead, and playing too well.
Dom Darcangelo led B’ville with four goals. Ward only had two goals and Evan States got shut out as Niko Manning, Matt Wood and Dave Middlemore joined Lawrence with single tallies. Kyle Styer added an assist. WG saw Glesener and Gasparini each put in four goals, while Corey Herrington earned three goals.
Before all this, the Bees lit into Central Square last Tuesday night, especially in the first quarter of a 20-4 romp over the Red Hawks.
As Central Square got dazed, B’ville had nine goals in the first quarter alone and a 14-2 advantage by halftime, allowing most of the Bees’ lineup to get valuable playing time — and for the starters to rest in advance of the trip to Camillus.
States had five goals and three assists, with Ward adding three goals and four assists. Darcangelo and Casey Colligan each found the net four times, with Middlemore, Manning, Tarin Trytek and Brian Heffernan also earning goals. Styer, Lawrence, Ben Messmer and Louis Eron all found the assist column.
B’ville would be home Tuesday to meet Corcoran in another key early-season test before going to Rome Free Academy on Saturday.
