Off to hot starts, the Westhill and Marcellus boys lacrosse teams did not want to lose any of its momentum before the harder part of its schedules.
With a showdown against state Class C no. 1-ranked Cazenovia looming, the Warriors, who were no. 8 in the first state Class C poll of the spring, saw last Tuesday’s game with Tully postponed, while the Mustangs had its game with Onondaga also pushed back to a later date.
Westhill made up the game with Tully on Thursday afternoon, mostly leaning on its defense as it turned back the Black Knights 8-2 and claim its sixth win in a row.
Tully didn’t get on the board until the fourth quarter, by which time Westhill already owned a 7-0 lead largely built on earning six unanswered goals in the first half. Between them, goalies Jack Sweeney and Nick Keyes nearly got the shutout, earning 11 total saves.
Richie Easterly scored twice and added three assists. His passes went to, among others, Casey Rogers and Ryan Zimmerman, who both managed a pair of goals. Mark Purcell and Joe Rainone had the other goals as Andrew French added an assist.
Less than 24 hours later, Westhill again prevailed, 10-4, over South Jefferson, a game that saw the Warriors trail the Spartans, 3-2, after one period, and though it went in front 4-3 by halftime, nothing felt safe until it scored five unanswered goals in the final period to get away and get a seventh consecutive victory.
Zimmerman, with two goals and two assists, led a well-balanced attack where Rogers, Centore and Purcell each found the net twice. Easterly added one goal and one assist, while Chris Marnell also found the net. Nick Keyes, playing in goal, made five saves.
Jordan-Elbridge had started 2-0, but then ran into Christian Brothers Academy last Monday afternoon and took an 18-10 defeat to the Brothers.
Wind and rain combined to give J-E just the conditions it wanted against a CBA side accustomed to playing on clean turf fields. And after it fell behind 3-0 early, the Eagles roared back and tied it, 3-3, by the end of the first quarter.
But that would prove the high point. Fuming at that early lapse, the Brothers took over and outscored J-E 7-1 the rest of the half. As the conditions got worse, the Eagles found itself unable to find its earlier rhythm, even as it played on fairly equal terms in the second half.
Zach Wagner still managed four goals and one assist, while Sam Robles scored three times, adding an assist. Logan Schwarting, Nate Town and Colby Falcone each had single goals. Taylor Rivenburgh, starting in the net, had 14 saves. CBA got three-goal hat tricks from Andrew Romagnoli, Braedon Gait and Cameron Smith, with Romagnoli adding four assists.
J-E rebounded Thursday with a wild 18-14 victory over Onondaga, where it blitzed the Tigers 7-1 in the first quarter and built up its lead to 10-3 by halftime. That cushion was needed, as OCS played a terrific second half, but could not quite catch up.
Wagner finished with six goals and two assists. Robles, with three goals and three assists, and Dylan Dunham, with two goals and five assists, also had productive outings, while Colby Falcone also scored twice.
Schwarting had a goal and two assists as Town, Dale Wagner, Chris Ryan and Kyle Humberstone earned single goals. Nick Hallinan and Taylor Rivenburgh combined for 13 saves in the net. OCS lost despite six goals from Hejenehe Brown and four goals each from Matt Pitre and Ben Wilson.
Marcellus (4-2), finally returning to action Friday after the Onondaga postponement, lost a tight 10-9 decision to Pittsford Sutherland. Down 5-4 at halftime, the Mustangs saw the deficit grow to 10-7 before it tightened up on defense and nearly forced overtime.
Still, it led to a defeat despite Mike McNaney’s four goals. Kevin Hutchings had two goals and two assists, while Matt Hutchings scored twice and added a single assist. Ross Filtch had one goal and one assist. Harrison Cox also got an assist as Jake Lilly, busy in the net, stopped 19 of 29 shots he faced to keep the game close.
