Cazenovia’s boys soccer team had a big opportunity when it visited Westhill for last Tuesday night’s OHSL Liberty division showdown.

A win would put the Lakers into first place in the league standings, and it did find early success – only the Warriors found more, especially from Anthony Scaravillo, and it led to a 4-2 defeat.

All through the first half, the defenses on both sides got picked apart. Cazenovia got on the board with goals from Luke Dorsey and Conor Race, which in most instances would get a quality team a lead.

However, Scaravillo terrorized the Lakers, constantly breaking into the open and putting up an astonishing four goals before the break. One of them was unassisted, with Barak BenYehuda, Pat Wickersham and Tim Sheridan assisting on the others.

Chris Matteson, who finished with five saves, and the rest of Cazenovia’s defense shut out Westhill the rest of the way, but it could not catch up.

The Lakers returned home Friday, to face Marcellus, and again stumbled in the first half, this time victimized by Nate Waite in a 4-1 loss to the Mustangs.

Waite earned most of a three-goal hat trick before the break as the Mustangs put Cazenovia in a 3-0 deficit. Race broke up the shutout in the second half, but the Lakers could get no closer. Chris Matteson recorded 12 saves.

Meanwhile, the Cazenovia girls soccer team was set to take a shot at Westhill, the state’s no. 4-ranked Class B team, last Tuesday, but stormy weather caused a postponement as the two teams never got the game underway.

So the Lakers were off until Friday, when it visited Marcellus, sitting just behind Westhill at no. 5 in that same state poll. It was close for a while before the Mustangs got away late and prevailed by the same 4-1 margin that the boys did.

Here, Kleine gave Cazenovia a 1-0 lead with a goal just 7:38 into the game. Gradually, the Mustangs increased its own pressure, tying it 1-1 when Brielle Filtch converted off Kathryn Busa’s feed in the 35th minute.

Despite strong work from Jamie Enders, who finished with 13 saves, the Lakers could not stop Busa, who notched a hat trick in the second half, earning all three of her team’s goals to account for the final margin.

Aside from making up the Westhill game, the girls Lakers also visit Hannibal and Skaneateles this week. The boys Lakers look to recover at home against Fabius-Pompey and Skaneateles.