Just a year ago, the Cazenovia boys lacrosse team took lots of pride in the fact that it could beat any program and any tough opponent, large or small.
Now, any win would be welcome as the Lakers’ struggles continued in last Tuesday night’s game against reigning state Class B champion Jamesville-DeWitt, the game a shutout until the latter stages of a 15-5 defeat to the Red Rams.
It was 9-0 by halftime, and Cazenovia did not get on the board until late in the third quarter. But it did find some late production as Alex Nowak got two goals, with Thomas Bragg earning a goal and two assists.
Chris Becker contributed one goal and one assist, while Matt McLaughlin had the other goal. Cole Basic and Will Shepard earned assists. Combined, R.J. Smith and Chase Cross made 12 saves.
For J-D, Ryan Archer had three goals and four assists, with Griffin Cook (four goals) and Joe Kiesa (three goals) benefiting from Archer’s passes. Jack Mulvihill wasn’t quiet, either, earning a goal and two assists. Bennett Chirco stopped 13 of the 18 shots he faced.
Cazenovia would inch closer to the win column in Thursday night’s game against Auburn at Holland Stadium, but again meet with frustration in a 12-8 defeat to the Maroons.
Only trailing by one, 2-1, through one period, the Lakers had a terrific second quarter, proving productive with its attack. But Auburn matched it, kept a 6-5 lead into halftime and then continued to counter the Lakers until, up 10-8, it shut out the visitors in the final period.
Bragg finished with three goals, helped by Shepard and Will Kahili, who each got two goals and two assists. Nowak had the other goal and Smith recorded eight saves. For the Maroons, Matt VanLiew had four goals, with Jake Morin adding three goals and one assist.
While Cazenovia continued to struggle, Chittenango had a bright moment on Thursday, handling Fulton 10-3. And this happened despite the Red Raiders leading 2-1 through one period, though the Bears shut them out the rest of the half and then surrendered just one goal in the last two quarters.
Grant Czarnecki had a part in half of Chittenango’s scoring plays, scoring three times for a hat trick and adding two assists. Eddie Houle had two goals and one assist, with Seth Spurgeon and Karl Farber also recording two assists apiece.
Spurgeon, Cooper Young and Trevor Butler notched single goals and also took part in a tremendous defensive effort, the Bears seeing goalies Carson Maciag and Corey Fredericks stop 11 of the 14 shots they faced.
Then the Bears made it back-to-back wins on Saturday, edging Scotia-Glenville (Section II) 11-10 in overtime. Leading most of the way, the Bears could not hold on to that 8-6 edge in the fourth quarter against the Tartans, but recovered to get the game-winner in the extra period.
Houle, with a goal and four assists, anchored an attack where nine different players scored goals. Only Spurgeon and Bill Demand found the net twice, with Czarnecki, Farber and Young each earning one goal and one assist. Butler, Tanner Laramee and Christian Cerio also earned goals. Maciag and Fredericks combined for 10 saves.
