The long-established pecking order in area high school boys lacrosse reversed itself in April, with Christian Brothers Academy and East Syracuse Minoa going to the forefront.
CBA, in fact, was nearly the lone unbeaten team in Section III going into May, sitting at no. 2 in the state Class C rankings despite taking its first loss of the season April 30 in a 7-5 defeat to Pittsford.
After a scoreless first quarter, Pittsford jumped out to a 4-1 edge by halftime. CBA closed the gap to 5-4 by the end of the third quarter, but never caught up as Andrew Kohlbrenner had two goals and one assist.
Then, after a 12-5 victory over New Hartford on Thursday, the Brothers took on the reigning Class A sectional champions from Baldwinsville Saturday at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, and while there were a few strong moments for the Brothers, long droughts proved far too much to overcome as the Bees prevailed 17-6.
B’ville’s defense ruled early, with several key stops from goalie Nick Cary as a trio of goals produced a 3-0 advantage. To its credit, CBA would fight back and match the Bees goal for goal the rest of the half.
However, a 7-4 deficit turned into much more during the third quarter, Czyz picking up face-offs (he won 20 of 26 for the day) and those extra possessions turning into six unanswered goals.
Not letting up until the end, the Bees had Keegan Lynch lead the way with five goals and four assists, with Carson Dyl scoring four times and tacking on one assist and Trey Ordway getting two goals.
Dan Anderson, with two goals and two assists, paced the Brothers, Declan Landers also converting twice. Kohlbrenner had a goal and two assists and Seamus Nicholson also converted.
Meanwhile, Fayetteville-Manlius and Jamesville-DeWitt found themselves seeking improvement, the Hornets having beaten the Rams head-to-head when they met April 30.
F-M didn’t get close during last Tuesday’s game against Cicero-North Syracuse, the Hornets humbled in every phase of the game during a 14-5 loss to the Northstars.
Unlike the close 13-10 battle they had April 16 at Bragman Stadium, F-M found itself constantly frustrated when it attacked the net, seeing C-NS goalie Peter Carter stop 15 of the 20 shots he faced.
Robert Madden did score twice, with single goals going to Louis Cogliandro, T.J. Conley and John Angelicola, but the Northstars saw Mason Blakeman get five goals and two assists as Mason Ciciarelli had three goals and one assist.
What happened on Thursday in F-M’s first regular-season clash with West Genesee was both rough and hopeful, a potential rout turning into a thriller before the Hornets’ frantic comeback fell just short in a 12-11 defeat.
All through the first three quarters, the Wildcats steadily built its advantage, capped by a 5-1 third-quarter push as Liam Burns got four goals, with Jack Mellen and River Oudemool each scoring twice.
So as the fourth quarter started, F-M trailed 12-5, but it started to win face-offs and find its way through WG’s defenses, steadily eating away at the big deficit.
Madden got three goals, with James Addonizio and Joe Hathorn each scoring twice. Cogliandro earned three assists as he, along with Conley, George LaCombe and Cooper Penoyer, also had goals, but the Wildcats held on at the end as its goalie, Dylan Desena, recorded 16 saves.
By contrast, J-D had an easy time of it on Wednesday, wiping out Cortland 21-2 to get back above the .500 mark and improve to 5-4 overall.
ESM met 7-2 Syracuse City last Tuesday night and had to work hard for an 11-6 victory, with Evan deBerjeois at the forefront thanks to his team-best four goals.
Trey Jones scored three times, adding an assist, while Eric Markert and Dillon Abreu had two goals apiece. Dan Abreu and Logan Welch added assists as goalie Luke James recorded six saves.
Maybe that game took a total because, against Auburn on Thursday night, ESM lost, 11-5, getting three goals from Jackson Palumb and single goals from deBerjeois and Welch, but nothing else as Christian Hogan (three goals) led the Maroons, three teammates (Zach Crosby, Colin Tardif and Maddox Gorney) each scoring twice.
