While everyone on the Marcellus and Westhill boys lacrosse teams knew things would get tougher as the Section III playoffs wore on, it was helpful that the first step was relatively stress-free.
In Class D, Marcellus, as the no. 2 seed, had to face no. 7 seed Bishop Ludden/Onondaga in Tuesday sectional quarterfinals, and the Mustangs were stingy throughout the game as it prevailed by a 14-3 margin.
These teams had met April 17 and Marcellus had won 18-9. Knowing how potent Ludden/OCS could be, the Mustangs concentrated on ball possession and containment, both of which proved quite effective.
Allowing just one goal in the first quarter, the Mustangs started to pull away with a 5-0 run through the second period. Luke Norstad, Brandon Desso and Rob Lobello led the back line as goalies Rob Seeley and Jake Taylor combined to stop 16 of 19 shots.
The balance on the front line was quite striking as Liam Tierney, Matt Connell and Matt Crysler each scored three times, with Gabe VanOrder getting two goals and two assists and Matt Reich adding three assists.
Emmett Barry had one goal and one assist, with Luke Ingianni and A.J. Belvito also converting and an assist going to Mike Quick. Ethan Gentile had two of the three Ludden/OCS goals as Zach Delany earned the other and Chris Hurley made 11 saves
Meanwhile, having moved up to Class C for this year’s sectional tournament, Westhill, as the no. 3 seed, had no trouble with no. 6 seed Cortland in its sectional quarterfinal, routing the Purple Tigers 17-2.
A comfortable early lead turned into a rout when the Warriors, already up 4-0, netted eight unanswered goals in the second quarter, and then stretched the margin to 16-0 before Cortland broke up the shutout in the fourth quarter.
Ryan Gilmartin and Reilly Sizing led with four goals apiece. Will Delano scored three times, adding two assists as Charlie Bolesh and Jack Grooms both got two goals and two assists. Owen Matukas and Riley McNitt had single goals as Matukas and Jack Mooney picked up assists.
In Friday’s sectional Class C semifinal at Liverpool High School Stadium – the same venue where it lost that double-overtime Class D sectional final to CBA one year ago – Westhill will try to upend defending champion Jamesville-DeWitt, the winner to get Homer or Carthage in next Wednesday’s title game on that same Liverpool turf.
Not that far away, at East Syracuse Minoa Stadium on Friday, it’s Marcellus against CBA in the sectional Class D semifinals, with the winner advancing to the finals at Liverpool against General Brown or Cazenovia.
