It was quite possible that the Skaneateles boys lacrosse team was facing Section III’s two best sides within a five-day span, hosting Jamesville-DeWitt before making a Saturday trip to Cazenovia.
Of the two, the game with Cazenovia carried much more importance, since both were in Class C and had actually met a year ago in the sectional semifinals. Sknaeateles lost that game and watched Cazenovia make it all the way to the state finals before falling to Cold Spring Harbor.
Now, as the Two Lakers sides gathered again at the Sean Googin Sports Complex, Skaneateles put up a tremendous effort, nearly erasing a sizable first-half deficit, but it wasn’t quite enough as Cazenovia, led by the duo of Cole Willard and Brenden Whalen, prevailed by an 11-9 margin.
It didn’t look to be close at the outset, Cazenovia bolting out to a 4-0 first-quarter lead. To its credit, Skaneateles clawed back and, by the third quarter, had moved within a single goal on two occasions, largely on the strength of a big effort from Reggie Buell, who scored six times, the most any opponent has done against Cazenovia this season.
Every time it was needed, though, the host Lakers made a clutch play, either from Willard, who kept on firing until he had amassed a season-best eight goals, or from Whalen, who was frequently tested but still came up with 16 saves.
Just as important was the fact that Skaneateles could not find anyone to consistently help Buell on the offensive end, though Pat Hackler scored twice as Matt Goetzmann and John Danforth managed single goals and Sam Duggan got three assists. Willard had Tom Bragg, who had three goals and one assist, offer some support.
The battle with J-D came first, on a chilly evening at Hyatt Stadium where the Lakers did a solid job of containment against the Red Rams’ potent attack, but even that couldn’t make up for offensive struggles that persisted throughout a 9-3 defeat.
From the second quarter onward, the Lakers managed just one goal in the face of Sam Mueller, Rosario Digristina and the rest of J-D’s back line, while Rams goalie Dylan Fleischmann got close to a shutout, stopping 13 of the 16 shots he faced.
Only trailing 4-2 at halftime, Skaneateles saw that shutdown continue, while the Rams got clear with a patient attack that saw Ryan Archer earn four assists to go with his lone goal and Charlie DiGristina score tree times.
Griffin Cook added two goals as Adam Fontana, Joe Kiesa and Jack Mulvihill also scored, with Tyler McKee, Matt Paul, Grayson Burns and Andrew Barclay earning assists. In defeat, Skaneateles saw Jack VanSlyke score two of his team’s three goals, with Sam Duggan earning the other. Kyle Oschner made seven saves.
At least in the case of J-D, it was a Class B side, not someone the Lakers had to worry about down the road. That wasn’t the case with Cazenovia, whose no. 3 state Class C ranking had included wins over the likes of West Genesee and Westhill, its lone blemish an April 23 defeat to state Class A no. 5-ranked Pittsford.
The fact that Skaneateles did play them so tough might offer some future encouragement. For now, though, the Lakers’ task was to improve upon its 5-5 mark as it began the pivotal month of May with just one game this week, a visit to Rome Free Academy.
