For their own distinct reasons, both of West Genesee’s lacrosse teams had things to prove in the wake of twin defeats to Fayetteville-Manlius on April 11.
On the boys side, the Wildcats had, throughout the early portion of the season, dealt with inconsistency on the offensive end, but solved those problems last Tuesday at Bragman Stadium during a 17-5 victory over Cicero-North Syracuse.
All of the missed chances from previous games (especially the ones against F-M and Jamesville-DeWitt) turned into a steady procession of goals here as the Wildcats roared out in front of the Northstars 13-4 by halftime.
Anthony Dattellas has three goals and four assists, with Brad Cunnigham getting three goals and two assists. Alex Rosa and Max Rosa each scored twice, Alex tacking on a pair of assists.
Just behind them, Liam Sexton got a goal and two assists as Nick Louise, Jimmy Bergan, Joe Delany, Mike Miccio, Jack Delany and Riley Small each got one goal. Ryan Sheehan contributed an assist.
WG, no. 18 in the first state Class A rankings of the spring, returned home Thursday to face Syracuse City, the first time new Wildcats head coach Shaun Smith met up against the Cougars program he started and coached for 15 years.
All sentiment was cast aside, though, as WG put away Syracuse 15-6, jumping out to a 5-0 lead by the end of the first quarter before the Cougars played well in the game’s middle stages, not letting the Wildcats get away.
But a fourth-quarter shutout allowed WG to relax as Cunningham amassed three goals and five assists, with Max Rosa adding three goals and one assist. Dattellas and Alex Rosa each had two goals and one assist as Sheehan, Bergan and Louise each finished with one goal and one assist. Small and Delany also found the net.
On Saturday, the Wildcats visited Hilton (Section V), and it was close most of the way, but WG was able to play terrific defense down the stretch, shutting out the Cadets in the fourth quarter to preserve an 11-8 victory.
Luke Staudt finished with 12 saves, protecting what was built earlier by the likes of Max Rosa, who scored five times. Dattellas and Cunningham both scored twice as Alex Rosa had one goal and one assist. Sheehan added a goal.
As for the West Genesee girls, the fact that it never led in its game at F-M contributed to a sense of unease when, early in last Tuesday’s game against visiting C-NS, it stared at a 2-0 deficit.
But the state Class A no. 14-ranked Wildcats quickly regrouped and, with Sam Detor’s goal, put together a 5-0 run to lead for good, added six straight goals late in the first half and proceeded to defeat the Northstars 17-9.
All told, Detor produced two goals and five assists, anchoring a diverse attack where no one had more than Stratton’s total of four goals and Sophia Scialdone added three goals.
Tara Osterdale and Matisyn Schaut joined Detor with two-goal outings, single goals going to Elise Mancabelli, Halen Saroney and Gabby Meager as Mackenzie Winn earned a pair of assists.
Two days later, WG took on Rush-Henrietta, who was no. 16 in those same state rankings and had already beaten the likes of Skaneateles this season.
Here, a poor start doomed the Wildcats in a 14-9 defeat to the Royal Comets, who burst through WG’s defenses throughout the first half while building a 9-2 advantage.
Fighting back late, the Wildcats did see Stratton’s pair of goals ignite a strong second-half push as Osterdale, Saroney and Meager also scored, but the rally proved too late.
Yet another defeat loomed on Saturday, WG falling to Canandaigua 13-10 as, again, a rough start proved costly, the Braves sprinting to a 6-1 advantage midway through the first half.
Back-to-back goals by Winn helped the Wildcats roar back to within two, 8-6, by halftime, and when Stratton and Eva Kloepfer converted early in the second half, WG had pulled even, 8-8.
But Canandaigua closed strong, overcoming late goals by Stratton and Osterdale as the Wildcats fell to 4-4 and would have to deal with state Class A no. 2-ranked Baldwinsville Tuesday night before a Thursday trip to Liverpool.
WG’s boys would have its own games against B’ville and Liverpool, each of them crucial indicators of where the top Class A teams stand midway through the regular season.
