Now the Fayetteville-Manlius boys lacrosse team finds itself in the same scenario its girls counterparts have already experienced the past two years.
Despite remaining in the ultra-competitive Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division with other Class A sides, the boys Hornets will move to Class B once the Section III and state playoffs roll around.
It might prove advantageous for F-M, but first it must go through all of the usual regular-season rigor, something the girls Hornets know well about.
For its 2019 opener Friday night, the F-M girls would meet South Jefferson, the defending sectional Class D champions, and with a large group of returning players from last year’s run to the state semifinals, the Hornets defeated the Spartans 14-10.
A large part of this stemmed from the way the game started. F-M was precise and lethal in its attack, steadily gaining a 9-3 advantage on South Jefferson by halftime.
That allowed the Hornets to withstand the Spartans’ late push, led by Megan Whitley (three goals) and Natalie Strough (two goals, one assist) as Kiera Shanley had four goals, with Annie Steigerwald adding three goals and one assist.
Katie Shanley’s pair of goals were backed up by four assists as Maddie Noel also found the net twice. Gemma Addonizio had one goal and one assist, with goals also going to Ava Angello and Tomlin Cicci. Kaylee Steigerwald contributed an assist.
As for the F-M boys, they had to wait until Saturday afternoon to get the regular season underway, but when it did the Hornets were ready for it, rolling past Section II’s Bethlehem in a 15-8 decision.
Even that margin was a bit deceptive, for F-M blitzed the Eagles in the first quarter, racing out to a 7-1 advantage. Then it blanked Bethlehem in the third quarter to move its margin to 13-4, well out of the visitors’ reaches.
Jack Shanley scored four times, with Jordan Leuze and Mike Howe earning three goals apiece. Zach Nestor had two goals and one assist.
Vince Cogliandro, Luke Daino and Josh Michel had one goal apiece. Max Cramer, K.C. Miller and Pratt Reynolds earned assists as Ben Hammond and Jack Van Valkenburgh combined for 11 saves.
Each of the F-M teams would now rest and practice until big showdowns with Baldwinsville on April 9 and West Genesee on April 11.
