CENTRAL NEW YORK – A four-game win streak by the Cazenovia boys lacrosse team had more than erased the painful memories of four consecutive road defeats to open the season.
Now the Lakers went after a much bigger prize when it traveled to take on reigning state Class D champion LaFayette to find out just how much it had really improved.
But while there were strong moments, Cazenovia could not quite contain the Lancers, who made its Senior Day a winning one by putting away the Lakers 18-10.
In a week where he received recognition in ice hockey and took a step closer to the junior ranks, Gannon Houghton netted three goals against LaFayette, with Cody Dickinson also scoring three times.
Brody Coleman, with two goals and three assists, paced the attack as Jack Wright and Forrest Ives got single goals and Max Michael picked up an assist.
All of that was not enough againt the potent LaFayette attack as Nelson Jones and Jameson Bucktooth each netted five goals, Jones adding three assists and Bucktooth two assists, with Vern Cook scoring four times. Lancers goalie Aiden Griffin stopped 18 of the Lakers’ 28 shots.
Cazenovia’s girls lacrosse team continued to go up and down, following a lopsided May 22 defeat to Homer by taking on LaFayette/Onondagda two days later and beating the Lancers 13-8.
Steadily, the Lakers built a 7-4 halftime edge on LaFayette/OCS, pulling further away by diversifying its attack beyond Katie Rajkowski, who still had two goals and one assist.
Carley Lounsbury scored four times, with Riley Knapp and Ella Brown each picking up three-goal hat tricks. Lily Sorbello added one goal and one assist as Hadley Schug got an assist and Mackenzie Halliday recorded seven saves.
Meanwhile, the Chittenango boys lacrosse team had, since its May 18 defeat to Cazenovia, lost 18-4 to Christian Brothers Academy to fall below the .500 mark.
But the Bears scrambled back to that position last Monday by edging Syracuse City 9-8, overcoming seven goals by Syracuse’s Tommy Rioux.
Caleb and Brendon Bernard combined for that same total, Caleb getting five goals and Brendon two goals, with Ethan Robles and Tom Navin also finding the net. Each of Dan Ensinger’s eight saves proved important.
A day later, Chittenango lost 16-6 to Homer, despite Caleb Barnard’s four goals as Brandon Barnard and Bradley Tily also converted.
Jake Calabro had four goals for the Trojans as Jared Mathews got three goals and three assists, with Reid Partis and Hunter Riehlman each earning three goals and one asist.
Chittenango’s girls lacrosse team lost 21-4 to Homer last Tuesday night, with Julia Graham, Alex Adams and Brooke Walters netting goals for the Bears as Tomi Newkirk and Cara Kielbasa earned assists. Kloey Roos (five goals, four assists) set the pace for the Trojans.
