Even if the Liverpool boys lacrosse team of 2014 doesn’t match the remarkable performance of the last few seasons, it can look back on last Tuesday night’s game against visiting Baldwinsville with a lot of fondness.
The Warriors trailed most of the night against the Bees, but played an inspired fourth quarter to catch up and then, in overtime, netted the game-winner to pull off a dramatic 14-13 victory.
None of this was likely. Liverpool was 2-6, coming off back-to-back lopsided defeats to West Genesee and Cazenovia. B’ville, by contrast, was 6-3 and had just romped past Cicero-North Syracuse 14-7, which gave long-time head coach Peter Fiorini his 400th career win.
From the start, though, the Warriors managed to hang close, tying it 2-2 after one period and, through the game’s middle stages, producing enough to keep B’ville worried, even though the visitors led 11-8 with one period left.
Playing with urgency, Liverpool flew down the stretch and took a 13-12 lead, only to have Steve Petrelli, who already had four goals and one assist, score in the final second of regulation to force it to overtime.
Liverpool won it in the OT period, and fittingly it was Dom Castiglia netting the game-winner as he finished with six goals for the night, with passes often coming from Matt Sala, who contributed two goals and four assists.
Kendall Keahey produced two goals and two assists. Justin Renk had a goal and two assists as Anthony Calabrese, Peter Sterio and Dillon Rogers earned the other goals and Kyle Halladay worked hard in the net, recording 14 saves.
B’ville lost despite Petrelli’s big night and a three-goal hat trick from Sean Barron. Connor Chapman had a goal and two assists, while Mitch Rein, Connor Smith, Cody Luke and Charlie Bertrand also scored. Dan Thomas made 11 saves.
Perhaps the win took a larger toll on the Warriors, though, as it lost 19-10 to Auburn two nights later. Trailing 4-0, Liverpool closed within 5-3 by halftime, but got run over as the Maroons went on a 10-2 third-quarter blitz, with Sean Lattimore (five goals), Dan Entenmann and Tom Herbert (four goals each) leading the charge.
In defeat, the Warriors saw Keahey and Castiglia both notch three goals, with Renk adding a goal and three assists. Sala, Antonio Rey and Steve Audley had the other goals.
Then it turned around again on Saturday for the Warriors, who smothered Oswego 20-11 by starting and finishing at a high level.
Scoring at will against an overmatched Buccaneers defense, Liverpool was up 8-1 through one period, and then watched Oswego slowly climb back in it, pulling within 13-11 by the time the third quarter was over.
But the Warriors had the final say, burning the Bucs for seven unanswered goals in the final period as Castiglia had another big game, scoring seven times and adding an assist.
Keahey and Pete Sterio each put in four goals, with Keahey contributing four assists. Renk and Sala both got a pair of goals, while Rey had one goal and one assist. Dillon Rogers managed a pair of assists. Halladay had his struggles in the net, but still picked up 17 saves.
Back on the field at Bragman Stadium on Thursday, Cicero-North Syracuse rolled past Central Square 18-4 on a night where the program raised money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation, a group dedicated to fighting against Parkinson’s Disease.
Steadily, the Northstars gained an 8-2 halftime lead, and then proceeded to double that total in an eight-goal third quarter to decide matters as Zach Debottis reached double digits in points, earning five goals and five assists.
Andrew Burns scored four times, with Tyler Griffo adding two goals and two assists. Eric Sauer and Ryan Waldron each got two goals and one assist. Tom Koster and Matt Bartolo each had one goal and one assist. Nick Mirizio had the other goal.
