Perhaps the Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool boys lacrosse teams will have it all sorted out by the time they conclude the regular season against each other May 17 at Bragman Stadium
For now, though, the whiplash of going from strong victories to disheartening defeats remains severe, and both went in the wrong direction last Wednesday night as the Northstars fell to newly-minted Class A favorite Baldwinsville 10-6 and the Warriors lost to West Genesee 14-7.
For C-NS, the trip to B’ville, whose 9-2 record put them at no. 17 in the state Class A rankings, was the first of two games against the Bees in as many weeks. But the hosts were used to this, B’ville having played (and beat) Auburn twice in a five-day span from April 28 to May 2 after two meetings in eight days against West Genesee, which were split.
C-NS did not want to run with B’ville, and stuck to that plan even though it saw an early 3-3 tie get away and it trailed, 6-4, by halftime. The third period proved decisive as the Northstars, with many chances to catch up, instead got shut out, Riley Smith eventually working his way to 15 saves.
No single C-NS player could consistently put the ball past Smith, with only Brandon O’Brien scoring twice. Ray Scarlata had one goal and one assist, while Nick Riccardi, Brian Rowe and Josh Pickard had the other goals.
B’ville, meanwhile, saw Ryan Gebhardt, with three goals, lead a well-balanced attack. Bertrand, Darcangelo and Connor Smith each found the net twice, and all of them benefited from passes by Fiorini, who notched five assists. In defeat, Hunter Dorgan made nine saves.
Later that same night, Liverpool took its trip to Mike Messere Field in Camillus, confronting a West Genesee squad suffering from a rare dry spell where it had lost five of its previous seven games.
The Warriors could not add to that string, though, instead seeing the Wildcats come back to life on the offensive end during a first half where it steadily built a 9-5 margin. Then WG cracked down on defense, limiting Liverpool to one goal in each of the last two periods while seeing Kevin Sheehan put up a career-best six goals on the other end.
Cabry Hildmann did pace the Warriors, scoring twice and adding an assist. Dillon Rogers and Jon Jerman also had two-goal outings, while Antonio Rey had one goal and one assist. Dylan Wallace gained the other goal as Connor Prosser made eight saves.
Just as with C-NS and Baldwinsville, the Warriors have an immediate rematch with the Wildcats on its home turf this Thursday. In the meantime, Liverpool would host 9-2, state Class B no. 7-ranked Auburn last Friday and nearly get its biggest win of the season, only to get thwarted at the wire in a 14-13 defeat to the Maroons.
Following a quiet first quarter, the pace picked up, Auburn getting in front, 6-4, by halftime. This didn’t faze Liverpool, who finally saw its offense click during a third quarter where both sides found the net five times.
Then, in the final period, the Warriors defended well and, with a string of goals, took a 13-12 lead. Liverpool couldn’t hold on, though, as Kaiden Tubbert tied it and then, with 1:09 left in regulation, converted again for Auburn’s game-winner, his fourth goal of the night to go with two assists.
Wallace and Hildmann both scored three times, with Rogers picking up a goal and four assists. Rey and Ben Root each scored twice, Rey getting two assists to match Audley, who managed a single goal. Prosser was busy throughout the night, but did make 13 saves.
C-NS played Saturday at Herkimer Community College and defeated Colonie (Section II) 9-4, never letting the Garnet Raiders make any sort of inroads after it got shut out in the first quarter.
Though its own attack was modest, the Northstars still spread its goal-scoring to seven different players thanks to four assists from Nate Scarlata. Pickard and Justin Griffith both scored twice, with Riccardi adding one goal and one assist. O’Brien, Dante Whitmire, Drew Flack and Tommy Flynn also found the net. Dorgan was impressive in the net, stopping 10 of the 14 shots he faced.
