For all the setbacks suffered in recent weeks, the Baldwinsville boys lacrosse team still had an opportunity to make this season special, but it needed a strong push right now in order to feel more confident going into the Section III Class A playoffs.
Things did come together in last Tuesday’s game at Syracuse, where the Bees’ defense, maligned for much of the season, turned it around in the biggest way possible, earning a shutout as it beat the Cougars 13-0.
With B’ville so stingy, any goals would do, but the Bees had seven of them by halftime, and didn’t have to worry about protecting that lead since Frank Delia and Justin Johnson would stop all nine shots they faced.
Ryan Gebhardt had three goals and two assists, with Pete Fiorini getting two goals and four assists. Spencer Wirtheim added two goals and three assists as Mike Tangredi matched Gebhardt’s three-goal hat trick.
Brendan Wilcox added one goal and two assists. Tanner McAffery and Austin Bolton earned single assists as Bolton, Brandon Mimas and Noah Ravas got single goals.
Great as this was, B’ville knew what loomed on Thursday night – namely, a trip to Camillus to face West Genesee, a task made more difficult by the fact that it was Senior Night at Mike Messere Field and that the Wildcats were sure to be alert following a close call against Cicero-North Syracuse earlier in the week.
Worse yet, Gebhardt was out and Fiorini dressed, but did not play. Combine the absence of B’ville’s two most potent players, and its attack could not get going until it proved too late as WG beat the Bees 10-5.
Through the first three periods, the Bees found itself constantly thwarted. All it could manage in the first three periods was two goals against the Wildcats’ man-to-man pressure, a far cry from the solid production its showed when it lost to WG 14-10 two weeks earlier.
A belated comeback saw Bolton get two goals, with Wirtheim getting one goal and one assist. McCaffery and Brandon Mimas had the other goals as WG spread things around, with Max Rosa getting three goals as Kevin Sheehan, Ryan Smith and Manny Castro had two goals apiece.
