ONONDAGA COUNTY – An active and exciting first Tuesday evening of April brought a pair of high-profile boys lacrosse showdowns – and a satisfying victory for a new head coach with a famous name.
Christian Brothers Academy made Ryan Powell’s debut a successful one, rallying in the fourth quarter for a 10-8 victory over the West Genesee Wildcats at Alibrandi Stadium.
Not far away, Fayetteville-Manlius and East Syracuse Minoa squared off, with the Hornets bouncing back from its season-opening April 2 loss to Niskayuna by topping the Spartans 13-8.
CBA tapped Powell, who made his name at Carthage, Syracuse University and a long professional career, to succeed another former SU great, Ric Beardsley, whose tenure included a 2017 state Class D championship.
Up against a West Genesee side with its own first-year head coach (Eric Burns), the Brothers leaned heavily on the duo of Declan Landers and Dan Anderson in the first half.
Landers netted four goals to push CBA to a 5-2 lead as Anderson got a goal and two assists. When WG cut the margin to one, the Brothers’ Seamus Nicholson answered by scoring with 1.1 second left in the second quarter – just as Landers did, off a turnover, as the first-quarter clock ran down.
Leading 6-4 at the break, CBA saw the Wildcats take over for most of the third quarter, with four goals from four different players. But then its defense settled down and would blank WG for a stretch of more than 16 minutes.
Joey Papa tied it, 8-8, and Andrew Kohlbrenner’s goal less than two minutes later, his second of the night, gave the Brothers the lead for good, though it would take a fifth goal from Landers and a last-minute conversion by Anderson to seal it.
F-M, meanwhile, would prove quite effective against an ESM side that was also playing its season opener.
Joe Hathorn, with his five goals, and Louis Cogliandro, with his four goals and one assist, were part of a potent Hornets line where T.J. Conley chimed in with three goals and three assists. James Addonizio had the other goal.
On the Spartans’ side, Jackson Palumb had his own five-goal night, but far less help from his teammates. Logan Welch and Evan deBerjeois both had one goal and one assist as Trey Jones also got an assist. Luke James recorded 11 saves.
Even with all this, though, it’s Jamesville-DeWitt who has enjoyed the most consistent amount of championship success among local teams in recent decades.
The Red Rams opened 2022 last Tuesday with a 12-4 win over Syracuse City where Sam Brazell, by himself, authored six goals, adding an assist. Gannon Kessler and Aidan Bates had two goals apiece, Kessler adding two assists as single goals went to Matt Keeler and Eli Goldberg.
CBA was impressive again on Thursday, going to Skaneateles and, working through a constant rain, rolling to a 14-7 victory over the Lakers.
Papa, with six assists, anchored an attack where Landers netted five goals and Nicholson four goals. Kohlbrenner had two goals and three assists as Dan Ludington and Marty Fallon also found the net.
ESM, in its own game against West Genesee, was close most of the way, but fell to the Wildcats 12-9, the difference a fourth quarter where the Spartans, who entered it tied 8-8, only converted once.
Logan Welch had three goals, with deBerjeois and Trey Jones both converting twice. Palumb was held to one goal as Charles Lockwood, stymied for most of the CBA game, led the Wildcats with four goals and one assist.
F-M defeated Auburn 13-9 on Thursday by outscoring the Maroons 11-6 in the second and third quarters. Hathorn worked through the rain to net five goals, with Conley and Robert Madden both scoring three times. Cogliandro and Charles Addonizio also had goals.
But the Hornets lost to Pittsford 13-8 on Saturday as CBA, on that same day, prevailed 14-9 over Vestal as Anderson and Papa both got four goals, Papa adding three assists. Landers and Ludington both scored twice.
