Nine seconds isn’t a lot of time, even in lacrosse, where speed and skill can produce quick scoring bursts.
Yet nine seconds was all West Genesee needed to turn around last Thursday night’s game at Cicero-North Syracuse, where it trailed at halftime but, with one well-timed spurt, changed the course of events and went on to beat the Northstars 8-5.
At halftime, WG trailed, 4-3, despite controlling most of the possession time in the first half and holding three different one-goal leads. In large part, that was due to the great work done by C-NS’s defense, anchored by goalie Hunter Dorgan, who would finish the night with 16 saves.
Early in the third quarter, the Northstars had the ball, but the Wildcats forced a turnover. Then, at the 2:20 mark, Tyler Shoults broke free on the left side and fired its past Dorgan, tying the game 4-4.
Off the ensuing face-off, the ball flew into the stick of sophomore defender Tom Baker. Seeing a lane up the middle, Baker, with his long stick, sprinted toward the net, and no C-NS defender could pick him until he had flung a hard shot that found the top of the net.
Baker’s unexpected goal, just nine second after Shoults tied it, set the tone for the rest of the game. Three minutes later, Spencer McNamara scored to make it 6-4, and though Nick Riccardi closed the gap to one later in the period, the Northstars didn’t pull even again.
Staying patient on the attack, WG made it 7-5 on Ryan McDonald’s second goal of the game with 17.5 seconds left in the third quarter. McDonald returned to complete his hat trick early in the final period, and the defense did the rest.
Between them, Baker, Jake Sparks, Liam St. Croix, Marcus Hudgins and the rest of WG’s new-look back line harassed C-NS into a string of turnovers and ably protected goalie Ryan Mavretish, who only had to make seven saves, less than half of Dorgan’s total.
During the first half, McDonald, Shoults and sophomore Kevin Sheehan all netted goals to put the Wildcats in front, only to have the Northstars retaliate. Dante Whitmire’s second goal of the night gave the Northstars that 4-3 advantage – at least until the Wildcats’ decisive burst.
WG followed this up by visiting Section V power Penfield on Saturday afternoon, and again its defense was solid – but the attack produced a bit more, and that led to an 11-5 victory over the Patriots.
Here, the difference was that the Wildcats didn’t let Penfield get on the board until the second quarter. By that point, WG had the lead for good, steadily working its way to a 7-2 margin through the end of the third period before the Patriots made a belated charge.
McNamara, with a career-high four goals, and Spencer Howes, with three goals and one assist, paced the Wildcats. Sheehan and Matt McDonald each earned three assists as Shoults, Ryan McDonald and Manny Castro also earned goals. Mavretish was superb in the net from start to finish, earning 11 saves.
On Tuesday night at Morrisville State College Stadium, WG will clash with reigning Section III Class C champion Cazenovia, and had another big trip on Thursday to Auburn, the first encounter with the Maroons since last spring’s Section III Class A final.
