In what could be described as nothing other than perfect timing, the West Genesee girls lacrosse team found itself back atop the state Class A rankings, just in time to honor its senior class.
When the Wildcats hosted Fayetteville-Manlius last Tuesday night, it was a chance to pay tribute to the 17 seniors that make up most of the roster. Many of them helped WG win its last state championship in 2012, and are determined to end their high school careers in the same manner.
Sometimes, Senior Night festivities can provide a distraction, and lead to poor play. But that wasn’t the case for the Wildcats, who put on another all-around clinic at F-M’s expense on the way to an 18-5 victory over the Hornets.
F-M had seen the Wildcats earlier this season (WG won 15-6 on April 3) and knew everything that it would face, and still the Hornets could do nothing to stop it.
Fittingly, seniors scored the first five goals – two by Marissa Hudgins, one each by Riley Donahue, Sinead Guy and Taylor Collins – and it kept going from there, WG controlling the draws and working its attack until it found open shots and converted.
About the only thing the Wildcats didn’t do was match its 15-0 first-half blitz from the May 2 game at Baldwinsville. Instead, it “settled” for a 12-0 margin at the break, and a chance to relax in the second half as another lopsided victory was in hand.
Hannah Elmer had five assists to go with her pair of goals. Guy and Grace Osterdale each found the net three times, with Hudgins, Donahue and Jackie Pardee getting two goals apiece. Rachel Delany, Jessica Dussing and Cailyn Negus joined Collins with single goals.
By now, the Wildcats’ habit of first-half shutouts was getting contagious, and it did the exact same thing at Liverpool last Friday night, dismantling the Warriors 15-2.
Here, despite all of Liverpool’s attempts to slow things down, WG had a 10-0 margin through the first 25 minutes, and kept adding to it as Donahue provided the fuel, setting a new career mark with six assists.
Donahue’s passes went to, among others, Osterdale, who had four goals, and Elmer, who scored three times and added a pair of assists. Negus and Taylor Collins both scored twice, with Hudgins, Guy, Brigid Regin and Lindsey Rose earning one goal apiece.
WG would still make one more regular-season road trip, to Oswego on Wednesday, before getting ready for the Section III Class A playoffs and its quest to reclaim that crown.
