Revenge, payback, settling scores – whichever way it is termed, the West Genesee girls lacrosse team has successfully made up for whatever missteps it took early in the 2017 season.
In the span of eight days, the Wildcats (1) avenged its first loss to Fayetteville-Manlius in 11 years, (2) rallied to stun defending state Class A champion CBA at Alibrandi Stadium and (3) claimed another rematch against another foe it fell to back in April when it beat Cicero-North Syracuse 6-3 last Tuesday night.
A five-game win streak had pushed WG to no. 7 in the state Class A ranings, one spot ahead of C-NS even though the Northstars, largely on the work of goalie Lauren Gilbert, beat them back on April 21 at Mike Messere Field and beat them in last year’s Section III Class A semifinals.
Tired of setbacks at the expense of C-NS, the Wildcats brought its defense-first approach to Bragman Stadium, and kept the Northstars off the board in the early going as Mackenzie Baker converted one goal and assisted on Ally Trice’s tally.
C-NS did bounce back to tie it, 2-2, only to have Baker answer with two more goals to complete her hat trick, Trice and Procopio earning assists. The Northstars closed the gap to 4-3 by halftime, but would never score again.
So effective was WG’s defense in the second half that goalie Claudia Mocciaro only had to make four saves for the night. That meant WG could stay patient and wait more than 12 minutes before extending its lead to 5-3 on Eliza MacCaull’s goal, with MacCaull returning to strike again three minutes later.
With things now squared against other league foes, WG could now focus its attention on getting a sweep – which it did Thursday night by making its way to Baldwinsville and, again, taking over down the stretch to beat the Bees 11-8.
The two sides traded goals over the first 10 minutes before Baker, Julia Williams and Lauren Ferris struck to push the Wildcats to a 5-2 lead. B’ville didn’t blink, though, blanking WG for the rest of the half and, with its own 3-0 run, pulling even, 5-5, at the break.
They were still tied, 6-6, when MacCaull converted with 17 minutes left. That put WG ahead for good as MacCaull and Procopio followed with consecutive goals to make it 9-6. Each time B’ville tried to tighten it up, the Wildcats had a timely answer, MacCaull and Procopio both netting goals in the closing minutes.
Trice gained three goals and Baker would amass four assists, and WG’s defense again protected the net in the late going as, Mocciaro made just four saves. Though well-balanced, B’ville never had a single player break out as seven players earned its eight goals, with only Peyton Fleming scoring twice.
