If the battle for Section III Class C supremacy in boys lacrosse boils down to Westhill trying to snatch the crown from Cazenovia, then two things are apparent.
First, the competition is bound to be exciting, tense and unpredictable. Second, they have a first act that might prove impossible to follow.
For four quarters and three tense overtime periods on Tuesday afternoon, the Warriors and Lakers slugged it out, resolving nothing until a quick play at the end of the third OT allowed Cazenovia to snatch a 7-6 decision.
The Warriors, no. 3 in the first state Class C rankings of the season, and the defending sectional champion Lakers, no. 6 in that same state poll, traded occasional goals but, just as often, squandered chances to either gain control or in the waning moments of regulation and two OT periods, to win it.
Westhill came within an inch of victory at the end of the fourth quarter. With the score tied 6-6, the Warriors had the ball and worked down the clock until Mark Purcell, in the last seconds, sent a shot to the net that beat Cazenovia goalie Brenden Whalen – but glanced off the crossbar.
Given a reprieve, the Lakers controlled the ball for most of the first OT, but didn’t convert as O’Connell checked Jake Lewis to cause a penalty at the end of that period. With a man up in the second OT, Cazenovia was unable to capitalize, and both sides turned it over in the last minute.
The third OT saw another Lakers man-up situation that went unrewarded, with O’Connell twice making point-blank stops, his eighth and ninth saves of the game. Then, Cazenovia worked the clock down until it got a shot that, with 2.1 seconds left, flew wide.
At that moment, Westhill may have relaxed a bit, thinking a fourth OT was secured. Lewis thought otherwise, cutting to the net just as Derek White passed the ball into open space, and in one motion Lewis caught the ball and flung it past O’Connell for the game-winner.
It wasn’t the first time Cazenovia had converted quickly at the end of a period. With Westhill up 5-4 late in a back-and-forth third quarter, the Lakers had the ball behind the net with five seconds left, enough time for P.J. Brown to take a pretty feed from Alex Hunt and convert the tying goal.
Lewis had scored with 5:07 left in regulation to push Cazenovia in front, 6-5, only to have Richie Easterly counter less than two minutes later, tying it and setting up the multiple chances, twists and turns that led to the dramatic resolution in the third OT.
Westhill had the ball for most of the first quarter, yet only led 2-1 at the end of it, while Cazenovia took possession for more than nine minutes at the start of the second period, but managing just one goal, from P.J. Brown, that forced a 2-2 halftime tie.
Other than Casey Rogers, who had three of Westhill’s first four goals, the Lakers’ defense did a solid job taking away the Warriors’ other weapons, which allowed it to be patient on the other end.
Even with the bitter disappointment from the OT loss, Westhill didn’t fret that much because it will get a chance at payback May 1 at the Sean Googin Sports Complex, with a playoff battle down the road quite possible, too.
