Maybe it was not spectacular or flashy – but it was just what the Fayetteville-Manlius boys lacrosse team needed.
The Hornets, coming off its first loss of the season to Corcoran on May 15, went to Bragman Stadium Tuesday night and fought its way past Cicero-North Syracuse 9-5.
Given that Thursday night’s showdown with West Genesee loomed, F-M was bent on not going to Camillus carrying two consecutive defeats as an anchor.
But CNS posed a real challenge, having just ascended to the top of the CNY Counties League National division with a come-from-behind, 8-7 win over Liverpool on the same night F-M was slipping against Corcoran.
On this night, F-M did not score often – but the timing mattered. It took just 37 seconds to get on the board, Ari Waffle converting off a Brendan Englert pass after CNS turned it over.
The only real spurt the Hornets made came late in the first quarter as, with the score tied 1-1, Todd Webster and Andrew Murphy converted, and Waffle returned to convert off another Northstar turnover to make it 4-1. All this came against CNS’s backup goalie, Brian Pitonzo, before starter Anthony Mercurio returned in the second period.
CNS held the ball much of the second quarter, yet could not put a dent into the Hornets’ lead. Bennett Sluis, Mike Moro, Kevin Fletcher and the rest of F-M’s defense did a terrific job of containment, forcing the Northstars’ attackers outside and causing shots to fly off target.
When CNS tried to catch up, the Hornets again picked up timely goals, as Tim Beach converted in the last five seconds of the first half and Mike O’Neil connected on a goal with 16 seconds to go in the third period to make it 8-4.
As an exclamation point, after CNS’s Mike Debottis hit his third goal with 8:56 left, Waffle answered with his fourth goal less than two minutes later. Waffle picked up a loose ball just in front of the net and made several nifty moves before flinging a shot past Mercurio.
So now the Hornets get West Genesee, winners of 11 in a row after a 2-2 start. It will be the first time the two rivals have seen each other in person since last year’s sectional final, won by the Wildcats.
