Even though most of its stars are underclassmen, the Christian Brothers Academy boys lacrosse team is not waiting to make its impact, and another championship might await them.
With the Section III Class C playoffs looming, the Brothers have geared up, rising to no. 3 in last week’s state Class C rankings, two spots ahead of its neighbors from Jamesville-DeWitt.
Having knocked off West Genesee 9-4 on May 4, CBA made another big statement on its home turf last Tuesday night, toppling state no. 6-ranked Westhill 12-7.
Right from the outset, Westhill had no intention of playing at the Brothers’ accelerated tempo, possessing the ball for minutes at a time, and CBA found itself trailing 1-0 in the last minute of the first quarter.
Then, in a span of seven seconds, Ryan Mackenzie tied it, Ian Henderson won the ensuing faceoff and passed it to Colin Kelly, who found Preston Taylor for another goal.
Now the Brothers led for good, and it scored twice in 24 seconds early in the second period and then, for good measure, added two goals just 18 second apart early in the third quarter, establishing a 7-1 lead.
Only then did Westhill spring to life, but it never got closer than three goals the rest of the way as CBA was able to flick off the challenges. Defenders Tommie Caputo, Matt Buck and Greg Wells worked well all night, and Z.J. Shahin recorded seven saves.
Taylor, with his four assists, anchored a well-balanced attack where Mackenzie and Sam Bonacci each had two goals and two assists, while Wyatt Auyer scored three times. Kelly and Joey Matheson each got two goals and one assist.
So began another stretch for CBA that continued Thursday night with a trip to Cazenovia and another fine all-around effort as the Brothers smothered the Lakers 15-3.
Building a 9-1 advantage by halftime, CBA had Shahin earn nine saves and the defense continually make stops as, on the other end, the attack remained well-balanced.
Kelly had four goals, with Auyer getting three goals and one assist. Mackenzie scored twice and got three assists, Dan Anderson adding two goals as Taylor notched a goal and four assists. Wells had one goal and one assist, Matheson and Caputo also finding the net.
The fun continued for CBA in Saturday’s 26-2 romp over South Jefferson. On Senior Day, the Brothers averaged more than a goal per minute building a 13-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
It was 19-0 by halftime, and everyone got to see some playing time as Taylor got five goals and three assists, with Kelly and Auyer each scoring four times, Auyer adding three assists.
Bonacci notched three goals as McKenzie had five assists to go with his lone tally. Chris Adornato and Cole Mathews both got two goals, with Dan Anderson earning a goal and two assists. Matheson and Josh Hulslander both had one goal and one assist, with Henderson and Brockton Bowler also finding the net.
East Syracuse Minoa played last Thursday and pounded Oswego 20-8, netting 10 goals in the first quarter alone as Tim Crouse finished with five goals and one assist, with Eric Callahan adding four goals and one assist.
Luke Rosaschi and Lance Madonna both scored three times, Rosaschi adding five assists and Madonna two assists. Jackson Palumb had two goals and one assist with Mike Kavanagh, Nolan Palmer and Connor Garland getting single goals.
