One miracle was wondrous enough, but trying for another proved too much for the Liverpool boys lacrosse team.
Having rallied from nine goals down to stun Syracuse in overtime in the previous round of the Section III Class A playoffs, the Warriors hoped for something close to that magic in Tuesday night’s semifinal against top seed West Genesee at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium.
Instead, what Liverpool got was cold, harsh reality in the form of a merciless and relentless Wildcats squad that controlled matters from the outset and prevailed, 16-2, nearly matching the 20-6 decision WG claimed at LHS Stadium exactly one week earlier in the regular-season finale.
Going in, the Warriors knew that it could not afford to cede much ground against the Wildcats, who didn’t have to play in the opening round of the tournament, were well-rested – and, as it would show, were anything but rusty.
It took barely two minutes for WG to get on the board with Ryan Sheehan’s goal. Kevin Sheehan made it 2-0 less than two minutes later. The Wildcats were owning the face-off circle and rarely let the Warriors possess the ball in the opening minutes.
Then Jay Considine took over, netting a goal and, with 0.2 seconds left in the first quarter, feeding it to Noah Sabatino for a goal that stretched the margin to 4-0. Considine, who would finish with four goals and two assists, scored twice more in the second period.
It was 8-0 before Kyle Caves finally put Liverpool on the board with 3:40 left in the half. Still, WG made it 9-1 by halftime, and started another assault with Manny Castro’s goal a mere 12 seconds into the third quarter.
All game long, the Warriors found it difficult to gain any sustained possession, and Caves’ goals were the only tallies of the night as Cole Zaferikas finished with eight saves. Right behind Considine, WG had Kevin Sheehan and Jack Howes both earn three goals and two assists.
