With a big win over Cazenovia already on the ledger, the Westhill boys lacrosse team sought to follow it up with more success against opponents not as noted.
That included Cazenovia’s neighbors from Chittenango, who took on the Warriors last Monday night and got run over in the course of an electrifying first quarter that saw Westhill nearly get a goal per minute on its way to handling the Bears 18-6.
Every time the Warriors had the ball in the first quarter, it seemed to end up in the net, a blitz that didn’t end until Westhill enjoyed an 11-2 lead. That margin got to 16-3 by halftime, allowing the reserves to see plenty of second-half action.
Casey Rogers, gaining six goals and one assist, was just one part of the attack. Luke McAnaney had two goals and four assists, with Charlie Bolesh and Jack Grooms each scoring three times. Jack Miller added two goals as Braeden Elmer had a goal and two assists. Owen Matukas and Andrew Hodgens had the other goals.
Now Westhill turned to Wednesday’s game against Marcellus, who was 1-3 following defeats to Baldwinsville, Cazenovia and Fayetteville-Manlius, but had just rallied past East Syracuse Minoa 11-10 the night before.
The timing of the game didn’t suit the Mustangs, but battle-tested as it was, it still put up a strong effort, trading blows with the Warriors most of the way, though Westhill still prevailed by an 11-7 margin.
The key to it for the Warriors was the way it started, seizing a 3-1 lead by the end of the first quarter. Over the course of the next two periods, every time Marcellus attempted to catch up, Westhill provided an answer.
So it was 8-6 going to the fourth quarter, where the Warriors finally got clear, seeing Rogers and Grooms both earn three-goal hat tricks, helped by McAnaney, who had two goals and three assists. Matukas and Charlie Bolesh each got one goal and one assist, with Miller earning the other goal and Hodgens tacking on an assist.
Dan Cusick, the Marcellus goalie, kept his team in it by earning 16 saves. But only Shane Rohe found the net more than once, finishing with three goals and one assist as Gabe VanOrder, Emmitt Barry, Rob Lobello and Matt Chrysler each had one goal.
Against ESM, the Mustangs led 5-1 after one quarter, only to give up that lead in the game’s middle stages, the Spartans going in front 8-6 by the time they reached the final period.
However, Marcellus had the final spurt, a 5-2 charge where VanOrder worked his total to four goals and two assists and Sam Rice scored three times. Matt Connell added two goals as Barry and Matt Reich each had one goal. Cusick recorded 12 saves.
Now with some confidence, and toughened by all of those early blows it took, Marcellus rebounded from the Westhill defeat by handling Chittenango 15-5 two days later. Never trailing, the Mustangs jumped on the Bears in a 4-0 first quarter and kept building on that margin the rest of the way.
VanOrder amassed three goals and three assists as Rohe also got three assists. Connell set a career mark with four goals, while Liam Tierney got a goal and two assists. Garlow, Chrysler, Matt Reich and Joe Martin also earned goals.
