The Westhill boys lacrosse team omes off an historic 2018 campaign that saw them end Jamesville-DeWitt’s long run of sectional titles, claim the Class C crown and then advance all the way to the state title game.
Opening last Monday night at Chittenango, the Warriors bashed the Bears 15-5, outscoring them 4-1 in each of the first three periods as Will Delano, with five goals, led the way, Charlie Bolesh adding four goals and two assists.
Jack Grooms, fresh off helping the Syracuse Cougars ice hockey team win the state Division I title, notched three goals and an assist as Reilly Sizing scored twice. Riley McNitt added a goal and Ryan Gilmartin got an assist.
Back home a night later, Westhill rolled past South Jefferson 18-8, amassing a 10-0 halftime advantage and cruising from there as Delano got double-digit point totals thanks to seven goals and four assists, while Grooms scored five times.
Bolesh often passed it to Delano and Grooms, finishing with seven assists overall. Sizing earned a three-goal hat trick as McNitt, Mack Etoll and Jack Mooney earned single goals.
A third game on Saturday pitted Westhill against General Brown, a sectional Class D finalist last spring.
This week’s action includes a key early-season test between neighbors Westhill and Marcellus, whose own season got underway last Thursday with its own game against South Jefferson.
The tempo was far different, but the Mustangs weathered it to beat the Spartans 7-3, with the hosts staying patient and converting when it could to overcome 18 saves by South Jefferson goalie Najuan Williams.
Those seven goals came from seven different players – Sean Tierney, Liam Tierney, Matt Connell, Mason Barney, Emmett Barry, Rob Seeley and Luke Ingianni, with Connell and Barry adding assists as Tighe Powell got two assists.
The Mustangs then took on Section V power Penn Yan on Saturday and pulled out a 4-3 victory over the Mustangs in overtime, rallying from deficits of 2-1 and 3-2.
Ingianni, Barney, Mike Quick and Liam Tierney got the goals, with Powell joining Barney and Tierney in the assist column. Superb in the net, Rob Seeley turned away 15 of Penn Yan’s 18 shots.
Meanwhile, Westhill got tripped up against last year’s sectional Class D finalist, General Brown, taking an 11-8 defeat as the Lions went up 4-1 by the end of the first quarter and matched everything the Warriors did from there.
Bolesh still had three goals, with Delano finding the net twice. Grooms and Gilmartin each had one goal and one assist as Sizing got the other goal. Aidan Felter made 10 saves as Bryce Johnson (two goals, four assists) and Corey O’Connor (three goals) paced General Brown, Dominic Lutz adding two goals and two assists.
