In years past, some of the most memorable area boys lacrosse regular-season games involved West Genesee and Jamesville-DeWitt, powerful programs with scores of sectional titles and 20 state championships between them.
The Wildcats and Red Rams met again last Saturday at Mike Messere Field, each of them undefeated, and again it proved unforgettable, with WG seemingly in control until a fierce late comeback allowed J-D to beat them 8-7 in overtime.
During the first quarter, J-D had most of the possession time, yet the Wildcats led 2-1 after Brad Cunningham scored in the waning seconds on a transition goal. A solid WG defense, plus several point-blank stops from Luke Staudt, set the early tone.
Feeding on that, WG amassed a 6-2 lead by the third quarter, Cunningham adding a second goal as Anthony Datellas also scored twice. J-D went more than 13 minutes without a goal before Matt Kemmis broke that drought.
Down the stretch, the pace picked up, but little changed as, with 2:16 left, Connor Delany converted to extend WG’s lead to 7-5, but the Rams were not done.
Nick Kemmis answered Delany’s goal 20 seconds later, and J-D got the ball back, tying it, 7-7, when Will Davis flashed open at the point and sent a hard shot past Staudt.
It came down to the overtime face-off, where Brendan Coyne outfought WG’s Vince Calabria, and then passed it to Durkin, whose initial shot was turned back by Staudt, but Durkin pounced on the rebound and, with a second chance, beat Staudt for the game-winner.
Even with those late tallies, Staudt still made 22 saves overall. Max Rosa had a goal and two assists, with Alex Rosa adding a goal as Calabria and Ryan Sheehan had one assist apiece.
That was just one big-time local game on Saturday. The other pitted Marcellus against its neighbors from Westhill, and despite a nervous finish, the Mustangs were able to hold off the Warriors 7-6.
Having already beat Skaneateles earlier in the week, Marcellus got in front of Westhill in the second quarter, and then appeared to pull away after halftime, eventually establishing a 7-2 advantage.
The combination of a stingy defense and Luke Ingianni’s three goals had the Mustangs feeling good, Liam Tierney adding a goal and two assists as Tighe Powell, Sean Tierney and Mike Quick also had found the net.
Westhill nearly made it up, though, charging in the fourth quarter as it scored four times unanswered, only denied because Rob Seeley’s 15 saves beat out Warriors counterpart Aidan Felter and his 12 saves.
Will Delano led Westhill’s rally, matching Ingianni’s three-goal total, while Jack Grooms had a pair of goals. Charlie Bolesh added a goal and Luke Etott earned an assist.
Much earlier in the week, Westhill, bouncing back from a March 30 defeat to General Brown, visited New Hartford, and though it was rough at times, the Warriors still eased past the Spartans 10-4.
In fact, New Hartford led 3-2 after one period, only to have Westhill shut them out over the course of the next two quarters while surging to a 7-3 advantage, negating the slower tempo the Spartans wanted.
Ryan Gilmartin finished with four goals, while Etoll and Bolesh both scored twice. Grooms had a goal and two assists as Delano earned the other goal.
Jordan-Elbridge played that same night, hosting Chittenango, and the Eagles made it back-to-back wins, handling the Bears 13-6 as it scored five times in the second quarter to erase an early 2-1 deficit.
A five-goal fourth quarter clinched matters for J-E, Wade Brunelle leading the way as he scored four times and added an assist. Luke Pinckney and Riordan Parker both had two goals and one assist, with Jeremiah Sparks also finding the net twice. Deacon Hill, Tyler Scott and Joel Blasko had one goal apiece and Griffin LaFleur added an assist.
That win streak halted on Saturday when J-E lost 7-4 to Cazenovia, the Lakers earning its first win of the season by building a 5-2 margin by halftime and then blanking the Eagles in the fourth quarter to thwart a possible comeback.
Parker had two of J-E’s four goals, the others going to Sparks and Brunelle. LaFleur and Hill earned assists and Kolin Humberstone earned 11 saves, Cole Basic leading the Lakers with three goals and one assist.
