ONONDAGA COUNTY – Perhaps it did not really feel like spring in Central New York until West Genesee and Fayetteville-Manlius were clashing on the lacrosse fields again.
Having missed out on an entire season in 2020, the Wildcats, girls and boys alike, were quite eager to return, but ended up in decidedly mixed results when they each faced the Hornets last Tuesday night.
At home, WG’s girls blanked F-M in the first half and went on to prevail 12-3, but the boys Wildcats were overwhelmed in several aspects of the game during an 18-7 defeat to the Hornets.
For the first 25 minutes F-M would probe but never once convert against a back line led by Jasmine Murray, Eva Klopfer, Erin Quinn and Cece Sidorovski.
So the Wildcats had time to warm up its attack, waiting nearly 10 minutes before Grace Detor got her team on the board. Back-to-back goals by Olivia Blanding, plus one from Ally Major, made it 4-0 going into the break.
F-M broke up the shutout early in the second half, only to see Blanding net her third goal and WG add to the margin, ultimately closing with four goals in the last five minutes to get away.
Halen Saroney scored twice, with seven players – Major, Detor, Gabby Meager, Rylee Gonzalez, Julia Miller, Reis Pagan and Sophia Scialdone – netting single goals. Courtney Reynolds and Caraline Major added assists.
As this went on, the boys game between WG and F-M had the look for a while of a contest that would be close like so many others. Though the Hornets were dominating in the face-off circle, WG, trailing 4-1, pulled within one midway through the second quarter on goals by Braeden McNeill and Jack Mellen.
But F-M countered with three goals 48 seconds apart, then scored three more times in the last two minutes of the half. As the Hornets pulled further away in the third quarter, goalie Matt LaCombe made an end-to-end run to score a goal, providing the night’s biggest highlight.
Mellen had two goals and one assist as Alex Rosa, Liam Burns, Nick Louise and Pat Linton also scored for WG. Bryce Landry and John Durkee made 18 saves between them as the Hornets’ Logan Wilkinson earned 22 of 25 face-offs and Caden Yancey got four goals and three assists.
Looking to recover from this, WG hosted Liverpool Thursday night and turned it around, handling the Warriors 16-8 with five players netting multiple goals in a well-balanced attack.
Rosa and Linton both notched three goals. Louise and McNeill both had two goals and two assists, with Sam Mancabelli also converting twice. Mellen, Joe DeLany, Mike Bergan and Ryan Mahoney got single goals and Bergan picked up three assists.
Meanwhile, WG’s girls were at Liverpool and trailed late in the second half before a stirring late-game turnaround, led by Major and Saroney, produced a 13-11 victory over the Warriors.
Up 7-4 late in the first half, the Wildcats surrendered that advantage, Liverpool charging to go up 11-9 with less than nine minutes to play.
But Major scored and Saroney tied it with 2:20 left. Then WG got the ball back and worked the ball until Saroney, with 20 seconds left, put in the game-winner, Major later adding an insurance goal.
For the night, Saroney netted the Wildcats’ lone hat trick, with Detor, Miller and Reynolds joining Major in the two-goal column as Meager and Allison Major also scored.
All of this made Saturday’s 14-8 defeat to reigning sectional Class A champion Baldwinsville a bit easier to take, especially since the two sides would meet again in Camillus on Tuesday. Scialdone had three goals against the Bees, but no other WG player scored more than once as the Bees’ Olivia Muscolino burned WG for seven goals to lead her side.
