With the goal of an undefeated regular season in sight, the Cazenovia boys lacrosse team rushed toward it with enthusiasm and confidence.
Two big home games remained, the first of them coming last Thursday night at the Sean Googin Sports Complex as the Lakers took on Marcellus and proceeded to dismantle the Mustangs, especially in the first half, and eventually winning by a 19-3 margin.
Though the Mustangs sat at no. 8 in the same state Class C rankings that Cazenovia topped, it was coming off last Monday’s 18-7 defeat to no. 11-ranked CBA, a game where it was outscored 10-2 in the second half by the Brothers.
Sensing this vulnerability, Caenovia attacked hard from the opening face-off. As usual, Henry Mann won most of those draws, and they translated into extra possessions – and lots of goals.
It was 7-1 by the end of the first quarter, but the Lakers were far from satisfied, blanking Marcellus in the second quarter and bolting out to a 13-1 lead.
Four different Lakers had hat tricks, led by Mann, who found the net five times and added an assist. P.J. Brown had four goals and one assist, with Jake Lewis and Cole Willard each scoring three times.
Alex Hunt, with two goals, and Derek White, with a goal and two assists, helped out, with Sam Langan adding a goal. Meanwhile, Cazenovia’s defense stifled Marcellus until the game was well in hand, Trevor Cross and Brendan Whalen combining for 10 saves.
Before all this, the Lakers had an interesting game at Jordan-Elbridge last Tuesday night, getting off to its worst start of the season before settling in and shutting out the Eagles 10-0.
J-E’s ability to control the pace led to a 0-0 first quarter. But the Lakers shook off that poor start and scored five times in the second period to gain control, and from there the defense, led by Eli Maxwell, Mike Nourse and T.J. Connellan, made sure the Eagles never got on the board.
Lewis, in particular, would flourish as he finished with five goals and one assist, while Mann managed three goals and one assist. Brown and Jake Stowell had the other goals, with White, Hunt and Keaton Ackermann adding assists.
Once Marcellus was dispatched, Cazenovia did the same on Saturday in a non-league game against General Brown, prevailing 14-4 over the Lions.
Brown and Mann each scored twice in the first quarter as the Lakers built up a 6-0 lead, with Lewis and Keaton Ackermann also finding the net. Connellan contributed a rare goal in the second quarter, with Mann and White helping make it 9-1 at halftime.
Cazenovia built up a 14-1 lead by the the fourth quarter. White, Connellan and Ackerman each scored again, with Langan and Peter Burr also finding the net and the starters getting some much-deserved rest.
And now Cazenovia could gear up for Monday’s visit from Skaneateles, who after getting to no. 20 in the state rankings proceeded to knock off Westhill and CBA (both also in the state rankings) last week to state its case as a title contender.
