On Friday night, both of the East Syracuse-Minoa lacrosse teams will go to the Carrier Dome for a doubleheader against Liverpool that will serve as a joint fund-raiser, too.
The games are being played in honor of two student-athletes – ESM two-sport athlete Kara MacDougall, who succumbed to cancer last January, and Liverpool football player Brian Wilbur, who just completed a round of chemotherapy treatments.
The girls lacrosse game will begin at 5:45 p.m. followed by the boys game at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for anyone under the age of 12.
Kara, 17, played soccer and lacrosse for the Spartans. Last fall, MacDougall traveled to Australia as a foreign exchange student. The ESM senior fell ill in Australia and upon her return home she was diagnosed with liver cancer last November. She passed away just two months later.
Wilbur was diagnosed with cancer two years ago as a junior. He was unable to play football his junior year because of his illness. His cancer went into remission and he was cleared to play his senior season, but after it was done, it was discovered that the cancer returned, which required more chemotherapy.
Liverpool’s connection to ESM is that Kara MacDougall’s mother, Kathy, works at Donlin Drive Elementary in the Liverpool School District. The MacDougall and Wilbur families will be recognized on the field during the event and both will receive plaques from school officials.
ESM’s boys team is heading into the Liverpool game feeling good in the wake of back-to-back wins early this week, starting with a 7-6 upset of Auburn Monday night.
When Auburn raced out to a 4-1 first-quarter lead, it looked to be trouble, especially since the Maroons’ defense ranks among the area’s best.
But for the rest of the night, ESM’s defense clamped down, forcing Auburn into all kinds of turnovers and rushed shots. And when the shots were on target, Chris Rosso turned them away as he stopped 12 of the 18 direct shots he faced.
This allowed the Spartans to tie it, 5-5, going to the fourth quarter, then inch out in front. Mike Cummings and Garrett Smith each had three goals, with Cummings adding two assists as Tom Rosaschi earned the other goal. Quadear Mike and Justin Endy got assists, too. In defeat, Auburn’s Connor Entenmann had four goals.
Just 24 hours later, ESM met New Hartford and, in a battle of Spartan teams, took over in the fourth quarter and won by a 9-6 margin.
For a while, it looked like a letdown from Auburn, as ESM trailed 3-1 after one period before rallying to tie it, 4-4, by halftime. Again, New Hartford would go in front by producing a third-quarter shutout, but ESM outscored them 5-1 down the stretch as it finally broke out.
Cummings, with two goals and three assists, anchored the comeback as Mike earned a three-goal hat trick and Smith got two goals and one assist. James Landry and Bobby Campese had the other goals as Cam Diedrickson and Nick Capriotti earned assists, too.
ESM’s girls played just once prior to the Dome, losing to Cortland 11-5. Only Nikki Devona (three goals) and Marlee Vlassis (two goals) managed to put shots in the net as Allyson Rossi added two assists. Carly Cunningham’s four goals helped the Purple Tigers lead start to finish.
