Even before they renewed their long-time rivalry Wednesday night, it had proved a memorable week for the Skaneateles and Marcellus boys lacrosse teams, for different reasons.
In the Lakers’ case, it involved history for the only head coach the program has ever employed, Ron Doctor reaching his 500th career victory when Skaneateles went to Homer Monday and defeated the Trojans 13-8.
It was Doctor who, in 1983, began the Skaneateles varsity program, eventually building it into one of Central New York’s best, with seven Section III titles, the last in 2010, and a 2002 appearance in the state Class C title game.
Now, in his last season before he retires, Doctor has another chance to make a title run, having joined West Genesee legend Mike Messere as the only local boys lacrosse coaches to reach the 500-win mark.
Against Homer, Skaneateles inched out in front early, but didn’t take charge until the third quarter when, up 5-4, it outscored the Trojans 5-1 in that period.
At the forefront, Pat Hackler scored four times and added an assist, with Evan and Grayson Brunelle each netting three-goal hat tricks. Nick Wamp, Ben Spinelli and Brendan Powers had one goal apiece as Quintyn McLeod and Nate Squires combined for nine saves.
Meanwhile, Marcellus played that same night at Cicero-North Syracuse and somehow overcame a four-goal deficit in the fourth quarter to stun the Northstars 8-7 in double overtime.
Nothing seemed to work for the Mustangs early and C-NS, helped by a 4-0 push in the second quarter, led 6-1 at halftime. By the time the final period started, the Northstars held a 7-3 advantage.
Led by Emmett Barry, though, Marcellus roared back. It was Barry scoring twice in the fourth quarter, giving him three for the night, while Mike Quick and Mason Barney also converted.
It went to OT at 7-7, and after the first OT settled nothing, the Mustangs got the ball in the second extra period, working it around until Liam Tierney shot it past C-NS goalie Joe Bartolo for the game-winner.
Luke Ingianni keyed the Mustangs’ attack all nights, finishing with two goals and three assists, while Rob Seeley turned back every C-NS shot in the fourth quarter and OT periods on his way to 17 saves overall.
With all of this momentum, Marcellus returned home on Wednesday and, facing Skaneateles, led most of the way and kept its poise down a tense homestretch to earn an 11-9 victory over the Lakers.
Other than giving up the first goal to Evan Brunelle 69 seconds into the game, Marcellus never trailed, blanking Skaneateles for more than 15 minutes while grabbing a 4-1 advantage and eventually leading 6-4 at halftime.
They mostly stayed in place until the fourth quarter when, down 8-5, the Lakers used back-to-back goals from Hackler to move within one, only to have Barry and Liam Tierney answer to restore the Mustangs’ margin to 10-7.
Again, Skaneateles fought back, Powers and Hackler scoring 30 seconds apart to reduce the deficit to one, but Ingianni, who already had two goals and three assists, faked out a defender and hit on his third goal with 3:22 left, and it proved the clincher.
Tierney matched Ingianni’s three-assist output and also scored twice, with Barry adding two goals. Quick, Barney, Tighe Powell and Marcus Darminio had the other goals and Seeley kept making big stops all night, finishing with 13 saves. Hackler finished with four goals and two assists as McLeod made nine saves.
