CENTRAL NEW YORK – A big weekend of area high school boys lacrosse would see Westhill challenged at the top of the Onondaga High School League by Marcellus and Skaneateles on consecutive nights.
The Mustangs went first last Friday night, and the game evolved into just the kind of defensive struggle preferred by the Warriors, who by a 9-4 margin claimed its 10th consecutive victory.
Steadily, Westhill built a 6-2 edge by halftime, and then contained any hopes of a Marcellus comeback with a terrific defense led by goalie Owen Mahar, who stopped 13 of the 17 shots he faced.
For the Warriors, Emmet Starowicz got four goals and one assist, with Kyle Rosenberger scoring three times and Luke Gilmartin getting two goals and two assists.
On the other side, three of the four Marcellus goals went to Marcus Darminio. Donovan Fraher had the other, with Adam Rayfield adding an assist.
All of this followed last Tuesday’s tense game against Homer, where Westhill nearly saw its win streak get upended, but pulled out a 10-9 overtime decision over the Trojans.
Homer blanked Westhill in the second quarter and led, 4-2, at halftime. A wild third quarter followed, the Trojans doubling its output but the Warriors answering every spurt with one of its own.
Then, trailing 8-6, Westhill caught up in the homestretch, Kyle Rosenberger scoring twice in the fourth quarter to give him three for the night before the Warriors, in OT, gained possession and saw Rosenberger put in the game-winner.
Aside from Rosenberger’s four goals and two assists, Starowicz, Gilmartin and Kyle MacCaull accounted for the rest of the Westhill offense, each scoring twice as Starowicz got three assists.
Marcellus, having beat Cazenovia 7-6 with a fourth-quarter comeback on April 30, had a rematch with those Lakers just three days later and, once again, won a low-scoring contest by a single goal, this time 8-7.
Chris Doshna again had a four-goal outings, helped by Darminio, Rayfield and Luke Spitzer, each getting one goal and one assist. Sam Barney also had a goal as Quenten Polkowski finished with 12 saves.
Skaneateles had a far less tense 14-5 win over Tully/Fabius-Pompey where Sean Kerwick, with four goals and two assists, led the way. Colin Morrissey scored three times as Jack Weeks and Charlie Carbonaro both got two goals, Weeks adding two assists, with single tallies to Jack Torrey, Ethan Hunt and Jeff McCrone.
Far from all this, Jordan-Elbridge earned a 22-0 shutout of Utica Proctor last Monday night, netting 11 goals in the first quarter alone and leading 17-0 by halftime.
Eleven different Eagles got on the scoreboard, with Wade Brunelle and Nixon Karcz each getting three goals and three assists. Brayden Kitterie also scored three times, with Austin Brunelle, Konnor Sharp and Bryan Tanner earning two goals apiece. Wyatt Werth added a goal and two assists.
A day later, J-E lost, 16-5, to LaFayette. Only Werth scored twice as Tanner and Wade Brunelle both had one goal and one assist. Wyatt Mullen earned a goal and Nick Long got an assist.
J-E played Tully/Fabius-Pompey on Friday and lost a 14-12 decision, the second quarter proving the key as the Black Knights outscored the Eagles 6-3 and then stayed out in front the rest of the way.
Karcz scored four times, with Mullen, Long and Joe LaFleur each getting two goals. Brunelle had a goal and two assists as Werth also scored and Austin Brunelle made 12 saves.
