Having made a modest climb from no. 20 to no. 17 in the state Class C rankings, the Skaneateles boys lacrosse team knew that it could do a lot better with one more regular-season win.
Specifically, it would require Skaneateles to go to the Sean Googin Sports Complex last Monday night and deny state no. 1-ranked Cazenovia the chance to finish off an undefeated regular season.
But it would not happen, as one bad stretch late in the first half came back to haunt Skaneateles, leading to a 14-10 defeat in this Laker duel.
Things started quite well for Skaneateles, the visitors playing Cazenovia to a 2-2 first-quarter draw and showing signs that it wasn’t at all intimidated by the reigning state Class C champions’ style.
Intimidation is one thing – but execution is quite another, and Skaneateles found that out during the pivotal second quarter. No matter what it tried on defense, the visiting Lakers could not keep Cazenovia’s deep group of attackers from finding the net.
From a 3-3 tie, Cazenovia netted three straight goals, two of them from P.J. Brown, and by the time they reached the break, Skaneateles trailed, 8-4.
And things would get worse in the third quarter, Cazenovia doubling up Skaneateles and making it a 12-6 game. To its credit, the visitors would battle all the way to the final horn, cutting into that deficit, even if it could not catch up.
Tyler Strods, in particular, did quite well against Cazenovia’s defense, managing four goals and two assists, while Sam Duggan managed a three-goal hat trick. Mark Goetzmann, Griffen Lawson and Jack Dawley had the other goals, with Goetzmann adding an assist.
Pushed all night, Skaneateles goalie Kyle Oschner made eight saves, but Cazenovia had five different players score at least twice as Henry Mann, with four goals and four assists, set the pace, also winning most of the face-offs. Brown got four goals and one assists, with Alex Hunt adding two goals and two assists. Jake Lewis and Cold Willard also scored twice.
Back home 24 hours later, Skaneateles celebrated Senior Night and quickly got back into the win column, overwhelming Bishop Ludden/Bishop Grimes 16-1.
Never threatened, the Lakers built up a 13-0 lead by halftime, and the cushion allowed the entire roster to see action as 11 different players eventually scored goals.
Strods and Cullen McGlynn, each with two goals and three assists, set the pace, while Dawley found the net three times. Duggan also had two goals as Owen Kuhns, Kevin Goetzmann, Mark Goetzmann, John Parsons, Connor Hill, Colin Foehl and Alex Dunn had one goal apiece.
Yet even with that defeat, Skaneateles, with an 11-5 regular-season record, drew the no. 2 seed for the Section III Class C playoffs and, more importantly, earned a first-round bye in a field of 14 where only Cazenovia (the top seed) also got a bye.
Still, that won’t make it easier for Skaneateles, as it would face no. 7 seed Homer (who survived a tense 6-5 opening-round game Saturday over no. 10 seed Watertown IHC) in Tuesday night’s quarterfinals at Hyatt Stadium.
The semifinals, between the winner of this game and the survivor of a quarterfinal between no. 4 seed Marcellus and no. 5 seed Westhill, are Thursday at Chittenango High School, and the sectional final is Saturday at 2:30 at the Carrier Dome.
