One of the first indications of the Westhill boys lacrosse team’s championship ambitions this season was an 8-5 win over reigning Section III Class C champion Cazenovia at home on April 1, a result that spent two seasons spinning in vastly different directions.
How different was apparent when the state Class C no. 3-ranked Warriors reunited with the Lakers last Tuesday night at Cazenovia College’s Christakos Field and claimed the rematch in a 17-5 romp, the matter all but decided in the first quarter.
What Westhill took a full game to achieve in the first meeting with Cazenovia happened here in less than 12 minutes. The Warriors surpassed that earlier goal total and led 9-1 after one period, a blitz from which the Lakers could not recover.
Luke McAnaney led with five goals and two assists, with Jack Miller getting three goals and two assists. Casey Rogers also scored three times as Jack Grooms got two goals and three assists, Braeden Elmer managed two goals and two assists. Charlie Bolesh and Owen Matukas also found the net, Bolesh adding two assists and Andrew Hodgens one assist to go wit his great work in the face-off circle.
Marcellus was able to roll last Tuesday in a 19-7 victory over Chittenango, steadily gaining control throughout the first half and not letting up until it had earned an 11-3 halftime lead.
Sam Rice, with four goals, and Gabe VanOrder, with three goals and three assists, led the charge, with Connor Widrick also scoring three times. Matt Reich and Liam Tierney had two goals apiece as Shane Rohe got one goal and one assist. Matt Chrysler also scored as Dan Cusick and Rob Seeley combined for nine saves.
With that confidence, the Mustangs ventured to Hyatt Stadium Thursday night to face archrival Skaneateles and nearly got its biggest win of the season, only to get thwarted by the Lakers in a narrow 9-8 decision.
Throughout the first half, Marcellus, who lost to Skaneateles 14-10 at home on April 13, claimed face-offs and slowed the tempo down, and it worked, the visitors gaining a 4-2 lead going into the break.
And even though the pace picked up, the Mustangs stayed in front until the fourth quarter, when Skaneateles passed them largely based on a two-pronged attack led by Pat Hackler, who had five goals, and Reggie Buell, who scored three times.
VanOrder did get a three-goal hat trick for Marcellus as Reich gained three assists. Rice scored twice, with Rohe and Emmitt Barry each earning a goal and two assists. Matt Connell had the other goal. Cusick had a strong game in goal, earning 15 saves.
It was just as close for Jordan-Elbridge on Thursday as it won a wild 17-16 overtime decision at Tully that included a massive comeback in the first half from a 7-1 deficit, the Eagles pulling within one of the Black Knights, 8-7, by halftime.
They traded goals for the rest of regulation, including a wild fourth quarter that saw J-E get six to Tully’s five to tie it, 16-16, before netting the OT game-winner. Dale Wagner and Dylan Dunham led the charge, each scoring five times as Dylan Dunham added three goals and three assists.
Chris Ryan got a goal and four assists, with Hunter Brunelle getting one goal and two assists. Evan Brunelle and Jacob Schwarting also found the net as Steve Tripp made 10 saves. For Tully, Brendan Lyon had five goals, with Jake Edinger and Aaron Hughes adding three goals apiece.
Back on Monday, Bishop Ludden broke out of its mid-season slump, beating Lowville 13-8 largely on the strength of a 7-0 first-quarter blitz, which gave the Gaelic Knights a big cushion against the Red Raiders’ strong play the rest of the game.
Dom Delvecchio had five assists, his passes often going to Zach Delaney, Ethan Gentile and Bailey Martin, who each netted three goals. Mack McCurn scored twice as Mac Mulhern and Ben Gross earned single goals. Mulhern, Carter Gentile and Matt Delaney picked up assists and goalie Chris Hurley stopped 15 of the 23 shots he faced.
Then Ludden beat Chittenango 15-13, in large part because it went on a 7-2 run in the second quarter to go up 11-5 at halftime. Then it held on the rest of the way as the Bears, led by Caleb Bernard (four goals) and Eddie Houle (three goals), made a second-half charge.
Thanks to Hurley’s latest 15-save effort, though, the Gaelic Knights stayed in front, with Martin getting four goals and one assist as Zach Delaney got three goals and two assists. Delvecchio had four assists as he, Ethan Gentile and Matt Delaney scored twice. McCurn and Carter Gentile had one goal apiece.
