No doubt, the Westhill boys lacrosse team was paying attention to Cazenovia’s busy stretch of seven games in 12 days that preceded the rematch with the Lakers this Friday night at the Sean Googin Sports Complex.
Of course, the Warriors, who fell from no. 3 to 5 in the state Class C rankings after that 7-6, triple-overtime defeat to Cazenovia on April 14, had its own work to worry about, including last Monday’s visit from those other Lakers, from Skaneateles.
Against them, Westhill held on for an 11-10 victory. The Warriors took over after a 3-3 first-quarter deadlock as, winning face-offs and controlling possession, it got four unanswered goals.
Leading 7-3 at the break, Westhill was not safe, as Skaneateles punctured Westhill’s strong defense during a 5-2 third-quarter push. But during a tense final period, both sides would make mistakes, and the one goal the Warriors got was just enough.
Casey Rogers, with three goals and one assist, and Ryan Zimmerman, with two goals and three assists, were the only ones with multiple tallies in a well-balanced attack. Richie Easterly had a goal and three assists, while Mark Purcell, Joe Rainone, Chris Marnell and Andrew French also found the net and Dan O’Connell made seven saves.
For Skaneateles, Sam Duggan finished with three goals and one assist. Jack VanSlyke and Graham McCarthy each got two goals and one assist. Alex Dunn and Cullen McGlynn had the other goals.
Two days later, at Jordan-Elbridge, the Warriors handled the Eagles 14-6, a game where fast starts to each half proved key. Westhill outscored J-E 4-1 in the first quarter and, to get away, put together a 6-1 sprint through the third period.
Zimmerman and Purcell each scored three goals, combining for five assists. Rogers and Andrew French had two goals apiece, with Nick French getting one goal and one assist. Matt McAnaney, Hunter Waddington and Andrew Hodgens scored, too, with Easterly contributing an assist.
J-E’s attack was far more modest, though Zach Wagner did manage to get a three-goal hat trick and add an assist. Nate Town scored twice, with Sam Robles getting one goal and one assist. Colby Falcone also had an assist as, in goal, Nick Hallinan made 10 saves.
Recovering on Thursday night, J-E defeated Oswego 14-9, using a 5-1 second-quarter surge to take control and matching everything the Buccaneers threw at them thanks to Robles’ four goals and one assist and Logan Schwarting adding three goals and two assists.
Falcone scored twice as Town, Hunter Brunell, Zach Wagner and Dale Wagner each added one goal and one assist. Chris Ryan also had a goal. Ben Annal led Oswego with three goals and two assists.
Marcellus would get its shot at Cazenovia on Thursday night, and hung close for a short while before the Lakers took over and eventually prevailed 15-4.
In the face of a tough Cazenovia defense, the Mustangs had just one goal in each quarter – two from Ross Filtch, one each from Shane Rohe and Harrison Cox. Dan Cusick fended off some of the charges with 15 saves, but the Lakers had too much consistent firepower from P.J. Brown, who had five goals and two assists, and Jake Stowell, who added four goals and one assist.
Before that, the Mustangs defeated Chittenango 10-5, ending the Bears’ three-game win streak with the combination of a defense that blanked the visitors in the first and third quarters and a big effort from Mike McNaney.
All McNaney did was outscore Chittenango by himself with six goals, adding an assist. Filtch and Cox helped out, each of them scoring twice and adding an assist, while Aaron Cusick had two assists and Rohe a single assist. Dan Cusick stopped 12 of the 17 shots he faced.
The Cazenovia defeat didn’t derail the Mustangs too much, either, as it took out Albany Academy 13-5 Saturday night, outscoring the Crusaders in every single quarter. McNaney and Matt Hutchings both scored four times, with McNaney adding two assists. Filtch and Cox had two-goal outings and Tim O’Sullivan stepped up with one goal and one assist.
When J-E faced Cazenovia Saturday (at home, because, the Lakers’ home field was still recovering from all the bad weather of March and April), the Eagles fell to the Lakers 13-6. Falcone scored twice, while Robles, Brunell, Town and Zach Wagner had one goal apiece, but the Lakers, led by Alex Hunt’s four goals, proved too tough.
Bishop Ludden won last Wednesday over Onondaga 12-8, gaining a 7-4 halftime lead and hanging on behind Phillip Buque’s five goals and one assist.
Mark Shattuck and Connor Smith each had two goals and two assists, with Dominick Delvecchio adding two goals and one assist. Steven King had the other goal and Anthony Talarico contributed an assist. Ludden lost, 18-8, to Tully on Friday despite Buque and Smith each getting three goals and two assists.
