If the West Genesee boys lacrosse team reclaims the Section III Class A title, it will do so not having to worry about Fayetteville-Manlius standing in the way.
As the top-seeded Wildcats dismantled no. 8 seed Utica Proctor 21-3 in Wednesday night’s opening-round game in Camillus, the no. 4 seed Hornets saw its title reign come to an end with a 14-6 home defeat to no. 5 seed Cicero-North Syracuse.
So this means WG would face the Northstars at C-NS’s home turf, Bragman Stadium, in last Saturday’s Class A semifinal, with the winner going to the Carrier Dome Wednesday night to play Auburn or Syracuse in the sectional title game.
Off for a week since beating Auburn in the May 12 regular-season finale, the Wildcats were eager to start again, and quickly decided matters against Proctor.
WG led 9-0 after one period, and already was slowing the game down in the second quarter, only extending the margin to 12-0. Proctor did not score a goal until the third period, by which the starters were gone and the clock was running.
Fourteen different Wildcats players scored at least once, with Nick Cunningham setting the pace thanks to his five goals. Dan Leo had two goals and three assists, while Matt McDonald and Noah Sabatino also found the net twice.
Mike Fletcher picked up a goal and three assists. Mike Linton, Jon Stefano and Liam St. Croix each got one goal and one assist as David Procopio, Kevin Sheehan, Spencer McNamara, Tom Nelson and Alex Scicchitano also earned goals. Ryan McDonald, Tyler Shoults and Ryan Smith earned assists.
Moving to Class C, Westhill, the no. 2 seed in search of its first-ever sectional title, survived a tough quarterfinal test last Wednesday night, defeating no. 7 seed Homer 10-5.
Having advanced to the sectional finals a year ago, Homer was used to post-season pressure, and dictated the pace throughout the first half. However, the Trojans could not convert against an airtight Warrior defense, Dan O’Connell eventually stopping 10 of the 15 shots he faced.
So while Westhill did not get a goal in the second quarter, it still led, 2-0, at halftime, and then started to find weaknesses in Homer’s defense early in the second half as the pace picked up.
Casey Rogers had another big outing, earning four goals, while Ryan Zimmerman and Richie Easterly each got two goals and one assist. Andrew French had one goal and one assist as Mark Purcell also found the net.
Westhill advanced to Saturday’s Class C semifinal at East Syracuse Minoa Stadium against no. 3 seed CBA, who ousted LaFayette 15-5 in its quarterfinal. The Warriors split two regular-season meetings with the Brothers, but the winner of the rubber game would get Cazenovia or Skaneateles in the Dome Wednesday with the sectional championship at stake.
Cazenovia got to the semifinal by ending the season of no. 9 seed Marcellus in a 15-2 romp, one that was more lopsided than the 15-4 defeat the Mustangs took to the Lakers on April 23.
Throughout the first half, Cazenovia controlled the face-offs and, by doing so, controlled the game’s tempo, patiently working the ball around until it found open shots and converted.
At the same time, the Lakers’ defense took away anything Marcellus tried to establish. Brenden Whalen only had to make six saves, and the result was a shutout that lingered the third quarter, by which point the game was out of the Mustangs’ reach.
Derek White anchored Cazernovia’s attack, picking up four assists to go with his three-goal hat trick. Jake Lewis found the net four times and added an assist, while Jake Stowell had three goals and one assist.
