All is in place for the Fayetteville-Manlius boys lacrosse team as it enters a regular-season homestretch that features four tough opponents in a row — Auburn, Corcoran, Cicero-North Syracuse and West Genesee.
The Hornets had another tune-up during last Tuesday night’s 23-1 romp over Nottingham, getting eight unanswered goals in the first quarter, a 13-1 margin by halftime and a second-half shutout.
Things got spread around, as Ari Waffle landed three goals and two assists. Five others — Andrew Murphy, Glen Trachtenberg, Brendan Englert, Chris Walsh and Matt Gilmore — had two-goal outings, with Englert and Trachtenberg adding two assists apiece.
Taylor Gerhardt, Ryan Simmons, Sean Wildhack and Matt Klepper finished with equal totals of one goal and one assist, with Todd Webster, Tim Beach and Chris Anklin also converting. John Bonsted added an assist.
One more simple test remained, and the Hornets had little trouble getting to 12-0 Friday night as it blasted past Central Square 16-6.
Only in the first quarter did the Red Hawks make things interesting, recording a trio of goals. However, F-M did not worry, instead taking charge in the second period with five unanswered tallies as it bolted to a 9-3 halftime edge.
F-M nursed that margin the rest of the way, with Waffle again using his hard shot to hurt the opposition as he got six goals and one assist. Klepper had a big showing, too, with four goals.
O’Neil, with two goals and two assists, offered the support as Walsh, Webster, Ryan Simmons and Roy Simmons earned the other goals. Trachtenberg had three assists as Kutzer got two assists. Gerhardt, Murphy and Jeremy Meguira picked up single assists.
Now come the big tests — first, the trip to Holland Stadium Tuesday to meet Auburn, who possesses one of the best defenses in Central New York. Then, F-M is back home Friday for Corcoran, facing James Cathers and the Cougars’ high-powered attack.
