Humbled twice in the span of less than a week, the Liverpool boys lacrosse team had more than the usual stakes at hand when Cicero-North Syracuse came to LHS Stadium last Thursday afternoon.
And what was already a rough week for the Warriors got worse when the Northstars, showing signs of life just past the midway point of the regular season, put everything together in an impressive 8-3 victory.
Remembering it had played Liverpool close when they met two weeks earlier at Bragman Stadium, C-NS controlled the ball for large portions of the first half, complementing the occasional goal with a stifling defense.
The result was a shutout that left the Northstars in front 5-0 at halftime. The Warriors got on the board in the third quarter, but only closed the gap to 5-2 and watched C-NS pull away in the final minutes.
Brody Guido led the Northstars’ attack, scoring three times. Nate Scarlata had two goals, with single tallies going to Josh Pickard, Justin Griffith and Peyton Watts as Chase Casler joined Pickard and Griffith in the assist column.
This was, above everything else, a showcase for C-NS goalie Brian Jobin, who kept stifling Liverpool and stopped 22 of 25 shots. Only Cabry Hildmann, Ben Root and Jacob Fahey got goals, with Hildmann and Ryan McGown each getting an assist.
Despite their records, C-NS and Liverpool entered this game with different moods, the Northstars quite happy after a much-needed 7-6 overtime victory over Syracuse, the Warriors not as happy after getting lit up by Baldwinsville in a 16-4 loss.
At Bragman Stadium, C-NS was trying to break out of a long skid, having lost five of its previous six games. Syracuse threatened to make it worse, overcoming an early deficit to blank the Northstars in the third quarter and move out in front.
But it was the Northstars who closed strong, erasing its 6-3 deficit as it scored three times in the final period to pull even and its defense, anchored by Jobin (12 saves), contained the Cougars.
Finally, in OT, Austin VanDewalker broke free and put home the game-winning goal. It was VanDewalker’s second goal of the game, matching Pickard as Guido and Griffith each had one goal and one assist. Scarlata had two assists as Joel Firth got the other goal.
All of this contrasted the turn of events at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, where Liverpool again caught a state Class A top 10-ranked team (Baldwinsville) coming off its first loss of the season, like it had with West Genesee on April 19.
Unlike that game, it wasn’t snowing here, but the Bees still took over midway through the first quarter, Pete Fiorini and Spencer Wirtheim scoring 11 seconds apart, followed by a 42-second spurt where Fiorini and Mike Trangredi both found the net.
Lukas McIlroy got Liverpool on the board, but that was the only goal the Warriors would manage until late in the third quarter, by which point the deficit was 12-1. Fahey, Ben Root and Luke Ruggaber would convert in those late stages.
Turnovers and uneven defense doomed the Warriors as B’ville easily overcame 11 saves from Cole Zaferakis. Wirtheim had three goals as Fiorini got three assists. Justin Hunter, Brandon Mimas and Connor Steria added two goals apiece.
C-NS, following its win over Liverpool, had a chance to win its third in a row on Saturday, but could not quite pull it off, taking a 10-9 overtime defeat to Marcellus, who ran its own win streak to six.
In a game closely fought all afternoon, the Northstars rallied from a 7-6 deficit in the fourth quarter, yet saw a 9-9 tie broken late in the first OT by Gabe VanOrder, who won it for Marcellus by putting it past Jobin, who had earned 21 saves to that point.
Scarlata gained four goals to lead C-NS, but no one else scored more than once as single goals went to Griffith, Guido, Firth, Watts and Aidan Longley. Matt Reich and Matt Connell led the Mustangs with three goals apiece.
