ONONDAGA COUNTY – If nothing else, each of the West Genesee lacrosse teams can certainly state that the starts to their respective 2022 seasons have proven full of excitement and drama.
Yet each set of Wildcats could only wish to finish on top in these tense scenarios.
No less than five games have been decided by a single goal, with the girls Wildcats having already endured three different overtime contests, winning two of them.
Only in last Tuesday’s game against Rush-Henrietta at Mike Messere Field did WG’s girls finally take a setback, though it required three extra periods before the Royal Comets prevailed 8-7.
A first-half three-goal hat trick from Reis Pagan helped the Wildcats build a 5-2 advantage. R-H countered with a 4-0 run that spread into the second half before Julia Miller tied it, 6-6.
Again the Royal Comets went in front, and again WG pulled even, Courtney Reynolds scoring with 7:04 left in regulation, and that’s where it would stay for a while.
Two three-minute OT periods went with neither side able to win it before R-H was able to land the game-winner in the third extra period, overcoming a tremendous performance by Allie Hanlon, who finished with 13 saves.
That same night, WG’s boys team was unable to hold a late lead at Vestal, taking a 9-8 defeat to the Golden Bears.
Steadily, the Wildcats had built an 8-5 lead through three quarters, seeing Ryan Mahoney and Jack Mellen both score twice.
Liam Burns had a goal and three assists, with Nolan Belotti adding a goal and two assists. River Oudemool and Pat Linton also gained goals.
Despite all this, plus seven saves from Shane Staudt, Vestal was able to dominate the fourth quarter, getting four unanswered goals to pull out the game.
This was what WG had to recover from as it faced unbeaten Baldwinsville Thursday afternoon. Instead, another brutal finish led to an 8-4 defeat to the Bees.
Strong defense pushed the Wildcats most of the way. Tied 2-2 at halftime, WG inched in front with a pair of third-period tallies as Oudemool had two goals, the others going to Burns and Linton as Mahoney and Charles Lockwood got assists.
None of this bothered B’ville, who poured in five unanswered goals in the fourth quarter to win it, led by Keegan Lynch, who netted three goals and added a pair of assists. Staudt, in defeat, had 11 saves.
Just as difficult was the WG girls’ 10-9 defeat to Baldwinsville in the team’s fourth one-goal decision of the season Thursday afternoon.
Here, the Wildcats were strong in the first half, Pagan and Cara Major both scoring twice as it built a 7-3 advantage. When Miller scored early in the second half, WG was up 8-4.
Reynolds’ third goal made it 9-6 with less than 10 minutes left, but B’ville scored twice to move within one and then, in the final minute of regulation, saw Brianna Peters tie it and Mia Pozzi convert the game-winner with 21.6 seconds left. Combined, that pair had five goals, with Carlie Desimone adding two goals and four assists.
WG finally broke the skid on Saturday, pulling away to defeat Jamesville-DeWitt 10-6. Reynolds, with three goals, led a well-balanced attack where Olivia Blanding and Rylee Gonzalez both got two goals and one assist. Single goals went to Pagan, Miller and Katherine Long.
