ONONDAGA COUNTY – Each of the lacrosse teams at West Genesee only aim for championships, which made the 2021 season so jarring for the boys Wildcats.
Entering June, WG was 5-8, with three defeats to Fayetteville-Manlius and three to Baldwinsville to go with a loss to CBA and its 15-10 defeat to Jamesville-DeWitt on May 29.
All of this was to prove how difficult the Wildcats’ schedule was, though its improvement was evident in the way it played on even terms with the powerful Red Rams in the first and third quarters.
But a 5-2 second-quarter push, to go with a late scoring surge, allowed J-D to get in front as Johnny Keib netted five goals and one assist, with Tanner Burns, Ethan Kesserling and Sam Brazell each scoring three times.
WG could not keep up with that pace, though Liam Burns netted four goals and Braeden McNeill got three goals and one assist. Nick Louise scored twice and added three assists as Joe DeLany had the other goal.
Tough as that was, the Wildcats’ 12-11 overtime defeat to Cicero-North Syracuse last Tuesday at Bragman Stadium was more difficult to take, given that WG had beaten the Northstars in each of their previous two encounters.
Trailing most of the way, the Wildcats, down 9-5, played a superb fourth quarter, its comeback led by McNeill, who set a new career mark in points with four goals and three assists.
But even though WG tied it 11-11 and forced OT, C-NS was able to get the draw in the extra period and saw Anthony Cimino convert the game-winner, part of a night where he got three goals and four assists.
Other than McNeill, no other Wildcats player scored more than once. Alex Rosa had a goal and two assists, with Louise and Sam Mancabelli both getting one goal and one assist. DeLany, Burns, River Oudemool and Pat Linton also scored as goalie Mike Bergan finished with 12 saves.
The season ended Thursday against F-M, and while it was close early, the Hornets got away and knocked off the Wildcats for the third time this season by an 18-8 margin.
McNeill and Burns scored twice on WG’s side, with Louise, Rosa, Linton and Sam Mancabelli getting the other goals. Louise and McNeill added assists as Pratt Reynolds (five goals) and Isaac Frechette (four goals) paced F-M.
In girls lacrosse, West Genesee began the homestretch on May 29 by fighting off Jamesville-DeWitt 14-11 in a game that had several different surges.
They were tied, 4-4, when the Wildcats netted four unanswered goals late in the first half, only to have the Rams storm back and tie it again, 8-8, early in the second half.
Then J-D twice went in front, and were up 11-10 with less than nine minutes left before Cara Major tied it and Julia Miller converted to put WG in front for good. Reis Pagan and Grace Detor sealed it with late-game goals.
Gabby Meager scoerd four times to lead the Wildcats. Miller and Detor had two goals apiece. Sophia Scialone had a goal and two assists as Halen Saroney and Olivia Blanding both earned one goal and one assist.
This led to a key game last Tuesday against Cicero-North Syracuse, with whom it had split two tense one-goal decisions this spring. This one was close, too, but WG’s late rally fell just short in a 9-7 defeat to the Northstars.
Tied 3-3 at halftime, the Wildcats slumped early in the second half as C-NS netted five straight goals, but it fought back with a 4-0 run, two of them by Scialdone, who pulled WG within one, 8-7, with 3:45 left.
But the Northstars regrouped and, with a late goal, put the game away, overcoming the two-goal efforts from Scialdone, Pagan and Rylee Gonzalez.
WG bounced back and closed the season on Thursday by knocking off F-M for the third time this spring, this one a 12-6 decision where it never trailed and never required a sustained run to put the Hornets away.
Gonzalez netted four goals, with Major and Scialdone each getting two goals and two assists. Meager scored twice and added an assist as Pagan and Courtney Reynolds earned the other goals and Major got two assists.
Both West Genesee teams were no. 2 seeds in their respective sectional Class A playoff brackets, with byes straight into Thursday’s semifinals, which could each be rematches with C-NS, who hold the two no. 3 seeds.
