At least the Skaneateles boys lacrosse team can take comfort in knowing that it was a lot more competitive in its second go-round with Class A opposition than it was the first time around.
Not only did the Lakers have to battle Fayetteville-Manlius last Monday night on the Hornets’ turf field, it also had to deal with heavy rain early and high winds in the late going, but still put up a spirited effort in a 9-7 defeat.
Quite unlike its March 29 opener with Baldwinsville, where it fell behind 10-0 in the first half on the way to a 14-6 defeat, Skaneateles got on the board first with Sam Duggan’s goal 5:06 into the game. But that would be the Lakers’ lone lead of the night.
F-M tied it, 1-1, later in the first quarter, and then used back-to-back goals from Erik Badger and Jack Wilson to move in front 3-1 early in the second period.
A lively exchange followed, as Skaneateles tried to catch up, but F-M answered each time. Thus, despite Duggan, Owen Kuhns and Jack Dawley converting, the Hornets still took a 6-4 lead to the break.
By far, the Lakers’ biggest problem was its inability to hang on to the ball. Turnovers, especially in man-up situations, proved quite costly as it went more than 20 minutes without a goal, including the entire third quarter.
Still, a stingy Skaneateles defense, anchored by goalie Kyle Oschner (who made 11 saves), made sure that F-M didn’t run away, so the margin was only 9-4 when Kuhns broke the long drought by getting a goal with 4:57 to play.
A minute later, Cullen McGlynn found the net, and the margin was down to three, 9-6, but the Lakers missed on chances to make it more interesting as McGlynn’s second goal with 18.8 seconds left proved too late.
Yet another big-name opponent awaited on Friday night as Skaneateles would go west down Route 20 to meet its neighbors from Auburn at Holland Stadium, and it turned into a high-scoring classic, but once again the Lakers had to taste defeat, this time by a 15-14 margin.
Trailing 3-1 after one period, Skaneateles erupted for seven goals in the second quarter, yet the Maroons matched every bit of that production, so the Lakers still trailed 9-8 going into halftime.
The third period reversed that trend, as now it was Skaneateles answering Auburn and tying the game three times, leaving it 12-12 going to the final quarter.
After falling behind again, 13-12, the Lakers saw McGlynn tie it and Dawley convert to inch his team in front, 14-13. But that would be the last Skaneateles goal of the night as Auburn pulled back even, and then took back the lead with less than three minutes left before hanging on.
Mark Goetzmann, quiet in the F-M game, roared this time as he got four goals. McGlynn had three goals and one assist, while Strods had a goal and four assists. Alex Dunn scored twice, with Dawley, Duggan, Josh Kuhns and Owen Kuhns getting single goals. Jack Burgmaster led Auburn with five goals and one assist, while Sean Lattimore added four goals and one assist.
With the Cortland game, originally scheduled for last Saturday, moved back to May 3, the Lakers faces Bishop Ludden/Bishop Grimes on Tuesday and take on Colonie (Section II) on Thursday at Union College in Schenectady, home of the newly-minted NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey champions.
