At the outset of a difficult two-week stretch that includes five straight games against high-level competition, the West Genesee boys lacrosse team nearly saw its unbeaten mark get cast aside.
But a timely surge in the second half, and a pair of clutch goals from Tyler Shoults, helped the Wildcats turn back Jamesville DeWitt 12-11 in Saturday afternoon’s showdown between a pair of traditional lacrosse powers.
In order to move to 8-0 on the season, WG, no. 5 in the state Class A rankings, had to come back from a three-goal deficit, and then had to absorb Ryan Durkin’s tying goal with 23.3 seconds left in regulation that tied it again, 11-11, and sent it to the extra period.
All game long, though, the Wildcats had controlled the face-off circle, and it did so again at the outset of OT, David Procopio winning the draw. After a shot went wide, Shoults took the ball behind the net and, going to the left side, flung a hard shot that eluded J-D goalie Joe Morgan and found the net.
Thus ended a game that had all kinds of momentum swings. WG controlled the first quarter with aggression on both ends, and goals from Shoults, Conor Bartlett and Matt McDonald created a 3-0 margin.
J-D countered with a second-quarter surge led by its young attack trio of junior Grayson Burns, sophomore Ryan Archer and freshman Griffin Cook. It was Cook’s back-to-back goals, including one right at the second-quarter horn, that created a 5-5 halftime tie.
Flush with momentum from that goal, the Rams kept it up early in the third quarter. In a 68-second span, Archer scored twice and Durkin converted, too, and suddenly J-D had an 8-5 advantage.
Now it was the Wildcats’ turn for a comeback, and it was Shoults, along with two proven seniors, Procopio and Ryan Cunningham, providing the firepower during a 4-0 run that helped WG take a 9-8 lead to the fourth quarter.
Three different times in that final period, the Wildcats led, only to get caught. With the game 10-10, Shoults hit on his third goal with 6:39 to play, and WG did everything it could to protect that slim one-goal advantage.
However, J-D forced a turnover with 1:26 left. Using both of its time-outs, it patiently worked the ball around until Durkin, off a feed from Cook, beat Ryan Mavretish to make it 11-11.
Led by Shoults, though, the Wildcats had the final say, and headed into a week where it will get big road tests Tuesday at Baldwinsville and next Friday at Cicero-North Syracuse.
Three nights before facing J-D, on that same home turf, WG met Liverpool, and it took a while for the Wildcats to gain control before it registered a 14-8 victory over the Warriors.
Past encounters between WG and Liverpool were marked by the vast contrast in styles of play, with the Warriors employing its zone defense to frustrate a Wildcats team accustomed to employing man-to-man looks. Often, that slowed the game down and kept goals to a minimum.
That didn’t happen here, though, as the two sides battled through a lively 4-4 first quarter. Even as the pace slowed down the rest of the half, Liverpool kept in touch, only trailing by one, 6-5, as they reached the break.
Gradually, WG took over in the second half, winning face-offs and wearing down the Warriors with a diverse attack led by Mike Fletcher, who had three goals and three assists as Cunnigham, Procopio, Matt McDonald and Ryan McDonald each scored twice.
Matt Sala led both sides with four goals, but had far less help. Kendall Keahey finished with two goals, while Conor Beatty and Dom Castiglia had single tallies. Antonio Rey added an assist as goalie Kyle Halladay recorded 10 saves.
