Before they could both enter the fray in the Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division and face each other on Thursday night, the boys lacrosse teams at Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool went through some more non-league tests.
Back on Monday night at Bragman Stadium, C-NS had everything going well for three quarters against visiting Marcellus, only to see it disappear in an 8-7, double-overtime defeat to the Mustangs.
C-NS already led when it went on a 4-0 push through the second quarter to lead 6-1 at halftime.. By the time the final period started, the Northstars held a 7-3 advantage.
Joel Firth, with three goals, had led the way, with Jason Meigs scoring twice. Chase Casler and Ethan Barrett had the other goals as Ryan Cappon, Anthony Cimino and Nolan Firth joined Casler with single assists.
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.
Bartolo had finished with 12 saves, while Marcellus counterpart Rob Seeley had 18 saves, blanking C-NS in the fourth quarter and both OT periods as Luke Ingianni helped Barry with three assists to go with his pair of goals.
Even with this brutal defeat, the Northstars took some confidence that manifested itself on Saturday morning when it hosted LaFayette and, finally, got into the win column by outscoring the Lancers 16-11.
Like it did with Marcellus, C-NS played a strong second quarter, outscoring LaFayette 7-1 to establish a 10-4 halftime margin. The Lancers made up half that ground in the third period, but solid defense down the stretch and timely goals carried C-NS through.
Cimino anchored the attack with a career-best total of six assists. Firth got three goals and two assists, while Josh Pickard earned four goals and one assist.
Conner Lynch notched a three-goal hat trick as Matt Cramer and Shane MacDonald helped out with two goals apiece. Bartolo recorded eight saves.
Liverpool did not play until Saturday, against Watertown, where it nearly got upended by the visiting Cyclones and required some poise down the stretch to get a 12-11 win over the Cyclones.
Having worked its way in front 8-5 by halftime, the Warriors saw Watertown erase that gap in the third quarter and tie it, 10-10, led by Ryder Sismer (three goals), Ethan Wise and Cole Yurack (two goals apiece).
Yet Liverpool’s defense settled down and held the Cyclones to one goal in the fourth quarter, allowing it to move back in front to stay as Ryan McGowan had a big day with five goals and two assists and Kyle Caves earned six assists.
Jacob Fahey, Cade Clouthier and Aaron Clouthier each scored twice, Fahey adding two assists, while Jake Piseno and Ian Conroy also got assists. Each of the 12 saves Cole Zaferikas earned proved important.
That moved the Warriors to 3-0 in time for its battle with C-NS at Bragman Stadium, after which Liverpool and C-NS would both host Essex Junction, from Vermont, during the weekend. The Northstars opened league play Tuesday against Syracuse City.
