The remarkable feat of eight wins against high-quality competition in 14 days lifted Cazenovia’s boys lacrosse team to a status as, arguably, Central New York’s best squad, as well as a no. 3 spot in the state Class C rankings.
After that gauntlet was done, the Lakers took the weekend off, and then had a few days to further refresh itself and practice before the regular-season homestretch got underway.
Owning a nine-game win streak, Cazenovia hosted Christian Brothers Academy (no. 19 in the state Class C poll) last Thursday night at the Sean Googin Sports Complex, and a rough start was followed by a brilliant second half in a 12-7 victory over the Brothers.
These same teams had met April 21 at Alibrandi Stadium, early in Cazenovia’s busy stretch, and the Lakers won, 11-7, in large part because it bolted out to a 6-0 lead and didn’t let CBA get on the board until midway through the second quarter.
Remembering this, CBA concentrated on face-offs at the outset of the rematch, and Drew Brooks won them, leading to the Brothers possessing the ball most of the first quarter and converting those chances, too, jumping out to a 3-0 lead before the Lakers got on the board.
Yet even as Cazenovia ate away at that deficit, and pulled within one, 6-5, by halftime, it still had to get those draws, so it put long-stick midfielder T.J. Connellan on that task, and he delivered.
Not only did Connellan grab those face-offs, he also led a tough Cazenovia defense that, again, saved its best work for the second half, holding CBA to a single goal as Brendan Whalen ended up turning away 14 of the 21 shots he faced.
Steadily, the Lakers took over, the effort including Connellan taking one of those face-offs, streaking down the field and putting a shot past CBA goalie Matt Vavonese.
As a whole, Cazenovia’s attack was well-balanced, led by P.J. Brown, who had three goals and one assist, and Derek White, who had two goals and two assists. Jake Lewis and Jake Stowell also scored twice, with Cole Willard and Alex Hunt joining Connellan earning one goal apiece.
With the OHSL Liberty division regular-season championship secure, the Lakers went for 11 wins in a row Saturday afternoon at Baldwinsville and got it, this time not waiting until the second half to play its best while pulling away to beat the Bees 13-6.
Though still patient on the attack, Cazenovia’s steady production led to an 8-3 halftime advantage, which meant it didn’t have to rely on second-half heroics, but instead added to it lead while using that zone defense to keep B’ville’s top player, Charlie Bertrand, from scoring more than twice.
Again, the production got spread around to all of the Lakers’ stars. Willard and Lewis each scored three times, with Willard adding a pair of assists. Brown got two goals and two assists as Hunt and Stowell also found the net twice and White added one goal and one assist.
Another Class A opponent, defending sectional champion Fayetteville-Manlius, would test the Lakers Monday night before the regular-season ended Wednesday, at Jordan-Elbridge.
