Aside from the unfinished business of earning a Section III championship that won’t get settled for a couple of months, the Westhill boys lacrosse team had a particular opponent it wanted to beat more than all others.
Cazenovia had built a large part of its championship run through the Class C ranks this decade at the Warriors’ expense. That included a 2015 season where three times, including the Section III Class C final at the Carrier Dome, Westhill challenged the Lakers – and lost all three by a single goal.
Remembering all that, the Warriors’ seniors, in particular, carried quite a grudge into last Saturday’s showdown with Cazenovia – and with terrific defense and timely goals, Westhill broke through, handing the Lakers an 8-5 defeat.
It helped Westhill that Cazenovia, from its latest sectional title team in 2016, graduated a senior class that included stars Cole Willard, T.J. Connellan, Derek White, Jake Lewis, Brenden Whalen, Adam Race, Jack Stowell and Kevin Frega. That’s eight players who have, or will, go on to play college lacrosse.
All of this hurt the Lakers, but it was the lack of offense that was evident right from the start as Westhill’s defense kept Cazenovia off the board until the early part of the second quarter.
And while the Warriors’ own attack was uneven, Casey Rogers still sparked it with a goal and assist on a tally by Owen Matukas, while Jack Grooms scored with 17 seconds left in the opening period to make it 3-0.
Fighting back, the Lakers closed the gap to 4-3 by halftime, led by Thomas Bragg, who twice put in shots from the point with a goal from John Williams in between. All along, the new-look Cazenovia defense kept the Warriors from getting away as goalie R.J. Smith was on his way to 12 saves.
The Lakers’ best chance to catch up came in the third quarter, but two long possessions did not net a tying goal, and Rogers scored again to make it 5-3. Then, in the fourth quarter, the Warriors gained face-offs and patiently worked the ball around until it could get open shots.
Matukas, Braeden Elmer and Luke McAnaney delivered for goals that negated tallies by Bragg and Williams to put the game away. So good was the protection of defenders Rory O’Connor, Jack Gilmartin and Sil Argentieri that goalie Tim O’Connor only had to make three saves.
Before it faced Cazenovia, Westhill improved to 2-0 last Wednesday with an impressive 14-8 win over Tully. Even that margin was deceptive as the Warriors roared out to a 6-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and extended it to 13-2 by halftime before easing up.
And it did so despite Rogers getting held to one goal and one assists. Grooms, McAnaney and Jack Miller had three goals apiece as Elmer, just four days after his state championship basketball season ended, got two goals and one assist. Fellow hoops star Matukas added two assists as Gilmartin and Owen Rodgers earned single goals.
Right after the win over Cazenovia, Westhill visitsChittenango Monday night, and then takes on Marcellus Wednesday.
