Even as the Section III Class A playoffs loomed and the West Genesee boys lacrosse team sported just two defeats on its ledger, dangers were everywhere, even in opponents once easily handled.
The state Class A no. 13-ranked Wildcats hosted Cicero-North Syracuse last Tuesday night and had to go to the wire to pull out an 8-7 decision over the same Northstars side it beat with relative ease by an 11-4 margin April 20 at Bragman Stadium.
Any game between C-NS and West Genesee carried emotion since Northstars head coach Bill Aldrich is a WG graduate and played under legendary head coach Mike Messere. It was made even more so this time because Messere has announced that the 2018 season will be his last on the sidelines in Camillus.
Mired at 5-7 overall, C-NS played with extra energy in the early going, and that caught the Wildcats off guard. With one quarter gone, WG trailed, 4-1, but it recovered quickly enough and, by halftime, had tied it, 5-5.
They would stay close the rest of the way, and the Wildcats didn’t go in front for good until the fourth quarter, its attack largely carried by Jay Considine, who finished with five goals, more than half of WG’s output.
Max Rosa scored twice, with Kevin Sheehan getting three assists. Ryan Sheehan had the other goal as he, along with Pat McDonald, Manny Castro, and Jack Howes, got single assists.
More often, though, C-NS goalie Brian Jobin frustrated them, making 11 saves as Tom Flynn led the Northstars’ attack with three goals and Brian Rowe added two goals. And the Northstars would prove that this effort wasn’t a fluke by going to Fayetteville-Manlius and beating the Hornets 10-8 two nights later.
But while C-NS got its upset at F-M, West Genesee hosted Baldwinsville on Senior Night, and while it was far from a great effort, the Wildcats did shut down the Bees most of the way and cruised to a 10-5 victory.
Unlike their first meeting on April 25, which WG won 14-10, the Bees did not have either of its top two scorers, Ryan Gebhardt and Pete Fiorini, in the lineup, and the Wildcats took full advantage of this, holding B’ville to just two goals in the first three quarters.
WG spread things around, as Rosa netted three goals and Castro, Ryan Smith and Kevin Sheehan had two goals apiece. Howes added one goal and one assist, and Sheehan also earned an assist. Only Austin Bolton got two goals for B’ville as Staudt and Luke Corcoran combined to stop nine of 14 Bees attempts.
