When former Syracuse University great Ric Beardsley took over as the Christian Brothers Academy boys lacrosse coach, this is what he had in mind.
It was the Brothers, ending a decade-long championship drought, celebrating as it beat state no. 1-ranked Westhill 10-9 in double overtime in last Thursday’s Section III Class D final at Liverpool High School Stadium.
Getting to that celebration required plenty of work, not just this season but in seasons past, forming a side that could both punish with a quick-strike attack and also defend when it had to.
All of those traits were on display in the homestretch of a tense sectional final where Westhill was not just defending its top state ranking, but also trying to avenge its lone regular-season defeat on April 27 when the Brothers beat them 9-6.
Twice in the fourth quarter of the title-game rematch, the Brothers took the lead, only to have the Warriors answer. Luke McAnaney’s goal with barely a minute to play in regulation forged a 9-9 tie.
CBA forced it to overtime, but saw Westhill’s Casey Rogers grab the face-off. For the entire four-minute period, the Brothers were on defense, but it kept the ball out as Matt Vavonese made a point-blank shot in the waning second of the first OT.
So a second extra period was required. Again, Rogers got the face-off, but here CBA forced a turnover and started to work its own attack, with plenty of options to choose from.
Just seven seconds before the second OT ended, Ben McCreary crept in from the right side and, when face-guarded, flung a hard shot past Westhill goalie Tim O’Connor, igniting a celebration 10 years in the making.
That it took so long only figured, since both teams missed on chances to get full control. Early goals from Rogers, Jack Grooms and Jack Miller and Casey Rogers put Westhill up 3-1, but by the middle of the second quarter, the Brothers had sprinted in front, 5-3.
Miller’s second goal cut the margin to one by halftime, but then CBA built a 7-4 advantage in the third quarter, only to see that disappear within minutes thanks to a 3-0 Warriors run. From there, no one would separate until McCreary’s game-winner, his fourth goal of the night to go with an assist.
Alex Calkins finished with three goals, while Mike Matheson scored twice and Mike Adornato converted, too. CBA would make its return to the state playoffs Wednesday at Vestal High School, near Binghamton, when it faced Section IV champion Chenango Forks in the regional round.
Both teams had won their respective semifinals last Tuesday at East Syracuse Minoa, where Westhill had put away Cazenovia 14-8 and CBA, with an aggressive and explosive start, got away from no. 4 seed LaFayette early and ended up beating the Lancers 20-8.
The idea of a fast start is something every team wants, but CBA really enforced that point against LaFayette, scoring five goals before the game was two minutes old. Matheson had a hat trick in the first quarter, and it was 8-1 going to the second, where Matheson netted a fourth goal and McCreary ran his total to four goals.
Thus, it was 13-2 at halftime, and the Brothers nursed that margin the rest of the way, relieved like everyone else when the Lancers’ Coby Thomas was able to sit up in a departing ambulance after suffering a back injury late in the game.
McCreary finished with six goals as Calkins methodically built up a total of five goals and three assists. Augie Bonacci had three goals and one assist as Eli Weiss got one goal and one assist. Francis Cannizzo contributed a goal and Adornato had an assist.
Two days later, in much tougher circumstances, CBA flourished again – and gained a sectional title.
