ONONDAGA COUNTY – While it had picked up some big early-season victories, the West Genesee girls lacrosse team had not quite put together the kind of offensive performance which caused extra notice.
That changed in last Tuesday’s game against Marcellus, where the Wildcats’ attack pummeled the previously unbeaten Mustangs, leading to a 16-4 victory.
Controlling the draws from the outset, WG used four straight goals to break out of an early 5-1 tie. Then it scored three straight times late in the half to extend that margin to 10-3.
And the lead kept growing, with the Wildcats seeing 10 different players find the net, none more than the three goals put up by Rylee Gonzalez and Caraline Major as Gonzalez added a trio of assists.
Halen Saroney and Gabby Meager each scored twice, with Sophia Scialdone, Madison Fassinger and Reis Pagan each earning one goal and one assist. Juila Miller and Paige Drazak also converted.
Marcellus kept WG from more damage thanks to goalie Sophia Powless recording 13 saves. Kadie Tierney had two of the Mustangs’ four goals, with the others going to Sophia Spitzer and Maddie Caron as Anna Spitzer got two assists.
This led the Wildcats to Thursday’s game at Fayetteville-Manlius, whom it beat 12-3 a couple of weeks earlier. The rematch was closer, but again WG finished on top by a 12-7 margin.
Briefly trailing twice in the first half, the Wildcats found itself even 5-5 at the break. Not until Miller’s free-position goal with 15:19 left did WG go in front for good, 7-6, but it closed strong as eight different players found the net by game’s end.
Courtney Reynolds, with a three-goal hat trick, equaled Scialdone. Olivia Blanding had a goal and two assists, while Gonzalez, Meager, Pagan and Grace Detor joined Miller and Pagan with single tallies.
Marcellus rebounded to hammer LaFayette/Onondaga 20-3 that same night, with Anna Spitzer getting six goals and three assists as Caron contributed four goals.
Lucy Powell scored twice and got two assists, with Sophia Spitzer, Bella Clarke and Kadie Tierney also netting two goals. Juile Hall and Quinn Burnett had single tallies.
Up against Christian Brothers Academy on Saturday, the pattern repeated itself and WG was glad for it, with a big surge early in the second half keying a 15-13 victory over the Brothers.
They were even, 7-7, early in the second half, but then the Wildcats went on a 7-1 run. It wwould need that cushion, since CBA roared back late and got within one with nearly two minutes left, led by Gracie Britton (six goals, four assists) and Bella Roberson (five goals).
It took Detor’s free-position goal with 34 seconds left to help WG hang on as she joined Meager, Reynolds and Scialdone in getting two goals behind Major’s three goals as Gonzalez and Blanding both had a goal and three assists.
Meanwhile, West Genesee’s boys lacrosse team took a second shot at the Fayetteville-Manlius side that handled them 18-7 when they met in the April 25 season opener.
Now on the turf at Mike Messere field, the Wildcats got a whole lot closer, improving on the defensive side as Bryce Landry recorded 15 saves and helped his side forge a 5-4 halftime advantage.
Yet WG still lost 11-9 to the Hornets, who went ahead in the second half as F-M got four goals apiece from Caden Yancey and Pratt Reynolds to overcome Alex Rosa’s hat trick.
Nick Louise and Joe DeLany both had two goals and one assist, while Sam Mancabelli had one goal and two assists. River Oudemool had the other goal as Pat Linton and Mike Bergan also got assists.
WG then battled CBA on Saturday afternoon two days after the Brothers’ head coach, former Syracuse University star Ric Beardsdley, resigned despite his team’s solid 4-2 start.
None of this seemed to affect CBA, who outscored the Wildcats in every single quarter and prevailed 11-5, led by Declan Landers (three goals), Dan Anderson and Chris Adornato (two goals each) as Delany, Oudemool, Louise, Burns and Linton found the net for WG.
