Should the Baldwinsville boys lacrosse team make a deep push into the Section III Class A playoffs that get underway next week, it might look back to a single quarter that served as a turning point.
At Liverpool last Tuesday night, the Bees trailed by three goals entering the fourth quarter, only to blank the Warriors and make a stirring comeback to pull out a 12-11 victory.
These same teams had met April 17 at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, and while B’ville won, 17-13, Liverpool produced plenty of goals, giving itself encouragement for the return match on its home turf at LHS Stadium.
They played to a 3-3 first-quarter draw, and then Liverpool gradually assumed control, putting together a string of scoring runs over the next two periods and earning an 11-8 lead.
The Warriors’ production was spread around quite well, as Dillon Rogers got three goals and one assist, with Matt Sala and Kendall Keahey each adding two goals and three assists. Dom Castiglia and Connor Beaty joined in, both of them scoring twice.
But B’ville’s defense tightened its grip during the fourth quarter, and as Riley Smith worked his way to 10 saves, the Bees roared back, tying it and then grabbing a slim lead that it would hold on to at the wire.
This was far from a one-man show, too, Charlie Bertrand, Jacob Anderson and Dillon Darcangelo each produced three-goal hat tricks, with Bertrand adding a pair of assists.
Ryan Gebhardt added two goals, with Matt Abbott also finding the net and assists credited to Pete Fiorini III and Patrick Delpha. All of this helped to overcome Kyle Halladay’s nine saves.
The other benchmark game this week saw B’ville host defending Section III Class C champion Cazenovia on Saturday afternoon, attempting to break up the Lakers’ 10-game win streak – but falling short in a 13-6 defeat.
After rough starts in its previous two games (wins over Westhill and CBA), Cazenovia did not repeat that behavior against B’ville, putting the hosts in an 8-3 halftime deficit and using its zone defense to frustrate the Bees and prevent a comeback.
Bertrand only managed two goals, the same total as Anderson, while Matt Dickman and Evan Stolicker got the other goals. Fiorini and Connor Smith added assists. Riley Smith had 16 saves, but couldn’t keep everything out as, for the Lakers, Cole Willard and Jake Lewis each had three goals, with P.J. Brown, Alex Hunt and Jake Stowell adding two goals apiece.
In between those battles, B’ville humbled Central Square 19-6 on Thursday night, breaking the game open with a 10-goal second-quarter outburst that made it 13-3 at halftime.
Anderson and Connor Smith both would gain five goals, topping Bertrand, who still found the net four times. Fiorini managed a trio of assists as Delpha scored twice and singles goals went to Dickman, Nate Marrow and Greg Norton.
With a 9-6 record, B’ville takes on Cicero-North Syracuse in Monday’s regular-season finale, with the Section III Class A playoff pairings announced later this week.
