For all that had gone awry in the last month, the West Genesee boys lacrosse team still entered the decisive month of May with aspirations to reclaim its long-held Section III Class A throne.
Just as important as the aspiration is the execution of those plans on the field, and the Wildcats had it all going in Friday’s trip to Bragman Stadium, where it completely smothered Cicero-North Syracuse in an impressive 13-1 victory.
Totally ignoring the fact the Northstars carried a 7-3 record into the game, WG got exactly what it wanted in all phases of the game, starting on defense, where Nick Mellen anchored a back line that followed the likes of Tyler Heldt and Nick Debottis everywhere they went, not giving up a goal to either of them.
As that went on, the Wildcats’ attack, slowly rounding into form, found success, especially in the second quarter, where it tripled a modest 3-0 lead, making it 9-0 by the time they went to the break, out of C-NS’s reach.
Dan Ginestro was the catalyst, piling up five assists and matching Brady Hoose’s three-goal hat trick. Ryan St. Croix (two goals, three assists) and Tom Pritchard (two goals, three assists) were productive, too, with Ted Glesener also scoring twice and Tyler Brown getting the other goal.
About the only suspense in the second half was whether C-NS would get shut out. Tyler Griffo broke up those plans with a fourth-quarter goal, but that was all the Northstars would pick up.
The key to the Wildcats’ turnaround would be winning on a consistent basis, and it started to do so last Tuesday night, but even that game with Oswego was nerve-wracking for a while before WG pulled away in the latter stages to beat the Buccaneers 10-3.
Oswego actually led, 2-1, going to the second quarter, and WG, who had lost 12-4 to Jamesville-DeWitt in its previous outing on April 20, found itself in a tight spot again, only clinging to a 4-3 halftime edge.
But then WG’s defense took over, shutting the Bucs down the rest of the way and giving the attack ample time to work out its problems and find the net on a consistent basis.
Hoose, in particular, was tough to stop. Hoose had a part in all but one of WG’s scoring plays, piling up six assists to back up his three-goal hat trick, while Ginestro managed three goals and two assists.
Pritchard, Brown, David Procopio and Marc Niechcial earned one goal apiece, with Brown adding an assist. Matt Koziol finished with six saves, only allowing those first-half goals to Oswego’s trio of Ryan Martin, Chase Izyk and Brandon Tracz.
At 7-4 following the romp at C-NS, the Wildcats host Central Square on Tuesday, leading to next Friday’s trip Friday to face Baldwinsville.
