A new high school boys lacrosse season is underway, and West Genesee is undergoing an historic transition.
Gone from West Genesee is coaching legend Mike Messere and his long-time assistant, Bob Deegan. Shaun Smith now is in charge, and the Wildcats debuted for him last Tuesday against Saratoga Springs at Herkimer Community College.
Ironically, that first game had many attributes of Messere’s tenure, with goals and scoring chances at a premium, but the Wildcats still handled it, defeating the Blue Streaks 7-4.
Neither team produced much early – in fact, WG was shut out for more than 10 minutes before Alex Rosa scored – but its defense kept Saratoga in check, too, creating a 2-1 halftime advantage.
Gradually, the Wildcats gained some control in the second half, but it wasn’t until Anthony Datellas and Brad Cunningham hit on back-to-back goals in the fourth quarter could WG produce a cushion.
Overall, Datellas scored four times, while Ryan Sheehan joined Cunningham and Rosa in the goal-scoring column, each of them earning assists, too. All game long, Luke Staudt was terrific in the net, stopping 12 of the 16 shots he faced.
WG’s home opener was on Saturday, against Penfield (Section V), and here the pace picked up, which ultimately suited the Wildcats well as it went on to earn a 15-10 victory over the Patriots.
By halftime, WG had matched its Saratoga output and, oddly enough, the score was 7-4 again. Only in this case, 24 minutes remained, and the Wildcats used them to withstand Penfield’s third-quarter push and, clinging to a 10-8 advantage, pull away in the final period.
Cunningham, with four goals and one assist, led a well-balanced attack as Max Rosa got three goals and one assist, with Datellas and Sheehan each earning two goals and two assists. Jack Delaney had one goal and one assist as Riley Small, Nick Louise and Vince Calabria also found the net.
Another local team having its home opener on Saturday found success, though in a much closer contest as Jordan-Elbridge met Clinton and did just enough to fight past the Warriors 6-5.
Tied 1-1 after one period, the Eagles seemed to gain control over the next two periods as it established a 6-3 advantage, Wade Brunelle getting a three-goal hat trick as Jeremiah Sparks, Griffin LaFleur and Deacon Hill had one goal apiece.
Yet that cushion was needed, since Clinton charged in the fourth quarter and moved within one, paced by Nick Mondore (two goals) and Corbin Melie (one goal, two assists). Yet J-E held on as each of Steve Tripp’s 10 saves proved important.
J-E would host Chittenango on Tuesday and face Cazenovia Saturday at Cazenovia College’s Christakos Field. West Genesee has to prepare all week for a big test Saturday against visiting Jamesville-DeWitt.
