A seven-game win streak, an 8-2 record, a no. 14 state Class C ranking – all of these were nice accomplishments for the Marcellus boys lacrosse team, but something bigger still lay in store.
And it was on the line last Thursday night, when the Mustangs ventured to the Sean Googin Sports Complex and went after state no. 3-ranked Cazenovia – and found the Lakers remained elusive and a bit out of reach, the win streak ending with a 14-7 defeat.
Both sides struggled at the outset, and Marcellus only trailed 2-1 after one period. What followed, in the second quarter, was a clinical effort on the Lakers’ part where it won face-offs, attacked at will, scored when it needed and also made a series of big defensive stops.
That made it 6-1 going into intermission, and though Marcellus would find some success on the offensive end during the second half, Cazenovia would always answer it and extend its margin.
Matt Hutchings still had three goals and one assist, while Ross Filtch amassed four assists to go with his lone tally. Gabe Van Order earned two goals and Shane Rohe got the other goal. Dan Cusick finished with 11 saves.
Cazenovia was led once more by Cole Willard, who scored five times and picked up two assists. Tom Bragg earned four goals, while Derek White passed out four assists. Alex Nowak and Will Shepard both scored twice and long-stick midfielder T.J. Connellan added a goal. Superb in the net, Brenden Whalen stopped 12 of the 19 shots he faced.
Marcellus tuned up last Tuesday with an 18-4 romp over Oswego, a game where the Mustangs were not looking ahead in any manner, building up a 17-3 lead through three periods as Rohe, with four goals and three assists, and Hutchings, with two goals and five assists, both finished with seven points.
Riley Donovan, with four goals and one assist, wasn’t far behind as Tim O’Sullivan and Sam Rice each scored twice, O’Sullivan adding two assists. Filtch had one goal and one assist as Van Order, Kieran Tierney and Matt Kaczor also earned goals and Matt Reich got two assists.
Westhill had already taken its shot at Cazenovia on April 19 and lost big, 13-5, but it was still no. 10 in the state Class C rankings when it visited no. 20-ranked Homer last Tuesday night and escaped with a big 8-7 victory over the Trojans.
Wanting to prove that its 6-2 start wasn’t a fluke, Homer was fired up for the start, but proved cold throughout the first half. Meanwhile, the Warriors patiently worked the ball around, leading to goals and a comfortable 7-2 halftime lead.
Every bit of that margin was needed, because it was the Warriors’ turn to go cold in the fourth quarter and watch the Trojans make a furious comeback as late stops by Tim O’Connor, who finished with nine saves, made a big difference.
Ryan Zimmerman, with two goals and four assists, often passed it to Casey Rogers, who got three goals and one assist. Nick French, Hunter Waddington and Jack Miller had the other goals. Dante Yacavone and Lars Roos led Homer with two goals apiece.
The excitement continued Thursday, at Alibrandi Stadium, where Westhill needed overtime to fight past Christian Brothers Academy 11-10.
Trailing 4-2 after one period, Westhill pulled even, 5-5, by halftime. A tense second half followed, neither side getting away, so it would bleed into overtime, when the Warriors gained possession and earned the game-winner.
Luke McAnaney earned four goals and one assist as Ryan Zimmerman added three goals and two assists. Matt McAnaney scored twice, contributing an assist, with Rogers getting one goal and one assist. Waddington had the other goal and O’Connor remained in top form, earning 13 saves.
On CBA’s side Ben Martin, with a goal and three assists, led an attack where Lincoln McGarrity scored three times, with Patrick O’Brien and Alex Calkins getting two goals apiece. Goalie Matt Vavonese made 14 saves.
Westhill went from there to beating South Jefferson 15-6 on Saturday afternoon, though it took an 8-0 second-quarter blitz to overcome the Spartans’ early 3-2 lead as Zimmerman found the net five times, adding three assists.
Again, Luke McAnaney was a force, with three goals and one assist, while Rogers and Braeden Elmer got two goals apiece. Single tallies went to Waddington, who got four assists, along with French and Owen Matukas . Miller had two assists and Matt McAnaney got a single assist as the Warriors improved to 8-2.
To start its week, Jordan-Elbridge made its way to Tully last Monday afternoon, where the Eagles never could overcome a rough first half on the defensive side and took a 13-6 defeat to the Black Knights.
Tully roared through the first half and led, 10-3, at the break, building its eventual winning margin behind a balanced attack where T.J. Gibbons had three goals and one assist as Jake Edinger and Jon Lippert each had two goals and two assists. Nick Edinger and Tyler Edinger also scored twice.
J-E could not overcome those efforts and, in fact, had no single player score twice. Its six goals came from six different players – Sam Robles, Chris Ryan, Bailey Bourque, Dale Wagner, Dylan Dunham and Logan Schwarting.
On Thursday afternoon, J-E engaged in a tense, back-and-forth battle with LaFayette that featured a host of ties and lead changes before the Lancers, making a timely late surge, defeated the Eagles 15-10.
Not until LaFayette moved in front 13-10 near the end of the third quarter did anyone have a lead more than one goal. J-E had stayed in it with 15 saves from goalie Taylor Rivenburgh and a solid attack that Hunter Brunelle, with four goals and one assist, paced.
Wagner and Robles each scored twice, with Dunham adding one goal and one assist and Colby Falcone also finding the net. Schwarting added an assist as, for LaFayette, Ian Evans and Reid Jackowski each had four goals, with Jordyn Marchiano and Ryan Agadal both getting two goals and three assists.
