A 1-2 start is not what the Fayetteville-Manlius boys lacrosse team is accustomed to, and early this week it had a chance to quickly put defeats to Cicero-North Syracuse and West Genesee aside and find its winning form again.
In Monday night’s non-league game against Skaneateles (made up from a snow postponement two days earlier), the Hornets mostly counted on its defense to do the hard work and preserve a 9-7 victory over the Lakers.
Skaneateles arrived with a 2-1 record and fresh off a big April 4 win over LaFayette, and got the game’s first goal from Colin Pfohl midway through the opening period. But F-M allowed nothing more in the period and tied it, 1-1, on Colton’s Oliver goal.
F-M took the lead for good when Erik Badger and Jack Wilson hit on back-to-back goals early in the second quarter, and a lively exchange followed the rest of the half, Skaneateles not letting the Hornets getting away, but not catching up, either.
In fact, after Jack Dawley scored with 1:21 left in the half to cut F-M’s lead to 6-4, the Hornets did not allow another goal until late in the fourth quarter – a span of more than 20 minutes.
Jake Pulver, Matt Stegemann, Gabe Niels and the rest of F-M’s back line put on intense man-to-man pressure, forcing Skaneateles into a series of turnovers, even in man-down situations. And goalie Brian Charlamb was superb, recording 13 saves, many of them point-blank efforts.
Wilson netted his third goal 28 seconds into the third quarter, and Luke Krizman, who assisted on that play, scored himself to make it 8-4 going to the final period. John Cote’s lone goal, with 9:21 left, gave F-M a 9-4 cushion.
And that cushion was needed. Owen Kuhns broke the Laker dry spell with 4:56 left, and Cullen McGlynn cut the margin to 9-6 a minute later. Try as it could, though, Skaneateles could not really cause stress at the end, as McGlynn’s second goal with 18.8 seconds left proved too late.
A night later, F-M had a far easier time of it at Central Square, moving back above .500 (3-2) and rolling past the Red Hawks 18-1.
The Hornets moved past its Skaneateles total early, leading 7-1 after one period and stretching out that margin to 12-1 by halftime. A lopsided second half allowed the full roster to see some extended playing time.
Cote set a new career mark with six goals, while Wilson got four goals and three assists. Casey Green had two goals and two assists as Badger also found the net twice. Krizman managed a goal and two assists, with Oliver, Andy Cummings and Dylan Taylor-Wolford notching single goals. John Stone and Jason Buck made their way to the assist column.
With those wins in the books, the Hornets get a full week to practice and work on its game before it meets Rome Free Academy next Tuesday night and hosts Liverpool on April 17.
