The last go-round for Mike Messere and Bob Deegan coaching the West Genesee boys lacrosse team would include another top seed in the Section III Class A playoffs.
In pursuit of a 31st sectional title and 16th state championship, the Wildcats will, in Thursday’s semifinal, face the winner of Tuesday’s game between no. 4 seed Liverpool and no. 5 seed Cicero-North Syracuse at the Northstars’ home turf of Bragman Stadium.
WG rested last week, but other local teams did not, including Marcellus, who saw its eight-game win streak ended by Class C favorite Homer last Tuesday night, but the Mustangs still proved plenty in a 15-11 defeat to the Trojans.
With the best record of any Section III team (14-1) and a no. 4 state Class C ranking, Homer was a massive challenge, and it didn’t get rattled when goals by Liam Tierney and Rob Lobello 20 seconds apart in the first quarter gave the Mustangs a 3-1 lead.
Instead, the Trojans blanked Marcellus the rest of the half, outscoring them 5-0 in the second quarter to jump out in front 7-3, turning the rest of the game into an exciting, spirited chase.
It said plenty about the Mustangs that, trailing 10-5 late in the third period, it fought back with three straight goals, and when Homer stretched the margin back to 12-8 in the final period, Marcellus put together another surge.
When Matt Crysler converted at the start of a two-minute man-up situation with 2:34 left, the Mustangs’ deficit was down to one, 12-11, with ample time to get even. But Homer forced a turnover and Vincent Basile converted 25 seconds later, halting the last comeback as the Trojans scored twice more in the last two minutes.
Tierney (four goals) and Gabe Van Order (two goals, two assists) led Marcellus as Matt Reich had a goal and two assists. Matt Connell and Luke Ingianni also had goals as Basile led homer with five goals, helped by Dante Yacavone and Lars Roos (three goals each) as Dylan Yacavone had three goals and three assists.
Despite this, the Mustangs drew the no. 2 seed in the sectional Class D tournament, and would face, in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, the winner of Saturday’s opening-round game between Bishop Ludden/Onondaga and Jordan-Elbridge.
And it turned out to be Ludden/OCS, who prevailed 14-9 entirely based on what happened in the third quarter.
A back-and-forth first half ended up in a 7-7 tie, but Ludden/OCS outscored the Eagles 6-1 in that third period, led by Bailey Martin and Ethan Gentile as they finished with three goals apiece, Martin adding two assists.
Matt Delany and Jared Wood both had two goals as Mac Mulhern, Carter Gentile, Nate Frye and Jeff Dargiewicz had one goal apiece and goalie Chris Hurley recorded 11 saves.
J-E, a young team whose season ended at 5-12, saw Wade Brunelle carry its attack with four goals and three assists. Deacon Hill and Luke Pinckney both scored twice as Riordan Parker added a goal.
Ludden/OCS faced LaFayette last Monday night in its regular-season finale, where it took a 17-10 defeat to the Lancers.
LaFayette led most of the way, up 6-3 after one period and building that margin behind Reid Jackowski, Gavin Hill (four goals each) and Ian Evans (three goals, two assists).
Delany, with four goals and two assists, and Martin, who scored three times, kept it from getting too far away. Ethan Gentile had two goals and one assist, with Wood getting one goal and one assist. Hurley finished with 11 saves,
Westhill has moved up to Class C this spring for the sectional playoffs, doing so with an 11-5 record and no. 13 state ranking after it wiped out Chittenango 17-2 last Tuesday night.
Steadily, the Warriors accumulated a 16-0 lead through three quarters as Owen Matukas got four goals and one assist, with Charlie Bolesh getting three goals and two assists.
Jack Grooms and Will Delano each scored twice and got a pair of assists, with Luke McAnaney earning three assists. Ryan Gilmartin and Mike Herrera both had one goal and one assist, with Reilly Sizing, Chris Holt and Jack Root also converting.
As the no. 3 seed in the six-team Class C sectional bracket, Westhill would need to beat no. 6 seed Cortland Tuesday to get a shot at no. 2 seed and defending champion Jamesville-DeWitt in Friday’s semifinal at Liverpool High School Stadium.
