So this was what 12 months of work for the Skaneateles boys lacrosse team had come to – a spot in the same semifinal round of the Section III Class C playoffs, against the same vaunted opponent, on the same East Syracuse Minoa Stadium turf.
Such was the circumstances as Skaneateles and Cazenovia battled for Laker superiority and to see who would join LaFayette at the Carrier Dome Saturday night for the sectional title game.
For a half, there was doubt about the outcome – but that doubt dissipated as soon as the second half got underway, Cazenovia flaunting all of its championship-caliber skills and leaving Skaneateles far behind them as the challengers lost by a 17-5 margin.
What had given Skaneateles the belief that it could pull off the shocker was the fact that it nearly did so back on April 30 at the Sean Googin Sports Complex, pulling within one goal deep into the second half and leaving with a modest 12-10 defeat on the ledger.
Those feelings grew more intense when Reggie Buell put a shot past Brenden Whalen for the game’s first goal. Yet that lead soon vanished as Cazenovia rattled off three straight goals and, despite a Sam Duggan tally, was up 5-2 at the end of the opening period.
For a long stretch of the second quarter, it looked like Skaneateles would catch up. Devin Callahan put in a terrific goal and Duggan struck for the second time to make it 5-4, but just at that moment an ill-timed penalty snatched away the momentum.
Cazenovia, like all great teams, exploited that mistake, Alex Nowak scoring on the man-up with 1:04 left in the half to extend its lead to 6-4, where it stayed until the break.
Then, in the third period, Cazenovia unloaded on Skaneateles. Winning face-offs and finding every defensive weakness, the champs reeled off nine straight goals in the period, three of them by All-American Cole Willard, and two each by Thomas Bragg and Derek White. That all but ended the Skaneateles cause, and the run would reach 12-0 before a late Skaneateles goal rescued some pride.
Getting there required Skaneateles to beat no. 5 seed to beat Christian Brothers Academy for the second time in 14 days in last Tuesday’s Class C quarterfinal at Hyatt Stadium, but the Lakers pulled it off, building a big late lead and cruising past the Brothers `14-7.
Skaneateles had pummeled the Brothers 15-7 on May 11. Now CBA did its best to avoid a similar blowout, but paid the price for a third-quarter defensive lapse.
During the second quarter, the Brothers nearly overcame a 4-1 deficit, shutting out Skaneateles and moving within one, 4-3, but the Lakers countered by opening the third period on a 3-0 run and later using a 5-0 spurt to extend to a 13-4 lead.
Battling to the end, CBA doubled its total in the waning minutes, but it proved too late. Buell amassed three of his four goals in the second half and tacked on three assists, while Duggan and Jack VanSlyke got three goals apiece. Devin Callahan had one goal and one assist as Pat Callahan and Reece Eddy had the other goals.
CBA, for its part, had Lincoln McGarrity earn a three-goal hat trick as Ben McCreary, Sam Martin and Alex Calkins each got one goal and one assist. Patrick O’Brien and Jace Whelan also scored as Matt Vavonese, with 14 saves, had a strong effort in the net, but Kyle Oschner countered with 12 saves.
