Regardless of class or opponent, lacrosse teams from West Genesee, Westhill and Skaneateles all find themselves with regional championships, each of them two victories from state titles.
On the girls side in Class D, Skaneateles followed up its tense sectional final win over South Jefferson last Tuesday at SUNY-Cortland with more comfortable efforts in back-to-back regional games.
It began Thursday at Jamesville-DeWitt, where the Lakers cruised past Salmon River (Section X) 14-3, building a 9-1 advantage by halftime.
Bella Brogan finished with four goals, just as she had done in the sectional titel game. Anasofia Cirincione, Ava Logan and Tatum Ryan each scored twice, Cirincione adding two assists as Julia O’Connor and Mara Stanton each had a goal and two assists. Kathryn Morrissey and Paige Willard also scored.
In Saturday’s regional final against Whitney Point (Section IV) at Ithaca High School, Skaneateles took a bit longer to seize control, but then did so and prevailed by a score of 17-7.
The Eagles gave up the game’s first two goals but then briefly went in front, 3-2, before Morrissey sparked a Lakers resurgence, netting three goals (two of them 35 seconds apart) that helped build a 9-5 halftime advantage.
Doing better on the draws thanks to Morrissey and Rory Comer, the Lakers erased any suspense by netting the first six goals of the second half.
All told, Morrissey had give goals, plus an assist, with O’Connor, Marquardt and Cirincione matching one another with three goals and two assists. Logan also had two assists as she, along with Ryan and Willard, had single goals.
In Friday’s state semifinal at SUNY-Cortland, Skaneaeteles plays Section V’s Palmyra-Macedon at 3 p.m. The winner goes to the state final just 24 hours later.
As for West Genesee’s boys team, after winning the sectional Class B title over Fayetteville-Manlius it came back to Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium on Saturday for the Class B regional final against Section IV champion Vestal, who beat the Wildcats 9-8 back on April 12.
Again, though, WG proved just how much it had grown and improved, leading from start to finish and pulling away late to beat the Golden Bears 13-5.
River Oudemool scored 41 seconds into the game. The Wildcats added two more goals, but Vestal matched them in the early stages, the game tied 3-3 as the first quarter once down.
But when Jack Mellen converted from the point with 13.4 seconds left in the period, WG led for good. Oudemool got two more goals early in the second quarter as the Wildcats’ margin stretched to 7-3.
And after Braden McMahon scored with 1:40 left in the half, the Golden Bears were shut out the rest of the way, the Wildcats’ defense smothering Vestal.
Dylan DeSena turned everything away, finishing with 14 saves. He said the team’s late-season improvement was a result of the players bonding and working harder than ever before to improve their performance.
Oudemool, who finished with four goals to match Liam Burns for top honors, said his team was tentative and cautious early in the season, but was now confident and focused every time it took the field.
WG’s next assigment is Wednesday’s state Class B semifinal at SUNY-Cortland against Section V’s Canandaigua, whose post-season run has included an upset of powerhouse Victor in its sectional tournament. The winner here goes to the state final at Long Island’s Hofstra University against Garden City or Rye.
Finally, there was the Westhill boys team, who had to also play two regional games very different from one another, yet won them both.
Against Section IV champion Maine-Endwell in the first round Wednesay at Bragman Stadium, the Warriors showed patience and poise in the course of a 14-9 victory over the Spartans.
Before they could even start, thunderstorms caused a delay of nearly two hours. Then the game started – and less than a minute later, thunder caused another weather delay.
When the first quarter ended (in a 3-3 tie), a third weather delay sent the teams to the locker rooms again. Only at the start of the second period did play resume for good.
M-E fought its way to a 9-6 lead just before halftime, but a goal in the last seconds by Rosenberger turned things around and, the rest of the way, the Warriors’ defense shut out the Spartans.
Midway through the third quarter, Luke Gilmartin and Owen Etoll scored 54 seconds apart to tie it, 9-9, and Rosenberger returned two minutes later to put in the go-ahead goal.
Up 10-9 going to the final period, Westhill drew clear thanks to two goals from Kyle MacCaull and back-to-back tallies from Gilmartin, who finished with four goals and two assists.
Starowicz carried the offense in the early going, scoring three times and later adding three assists. Rosenberger had two assists as Allen got one goal and one assist.
Moving to Saturday’s regional final against Section X’s Ogdensburg at Potsdam High School, the Warriors would find this game far less disruptive thanks to the bright sunshine – and far easier, too.
The Warriors rolled past Ogdensburg 19-5, controlling things from the outset as its offense put up as many goals in the first half as it did in the entire CBA game.
That 12-3 margin only expanded in the second half despite a running clock most of the way, Rosenberger scoring five times as Gilmartin, Etoll and MacCaull had four goals apiece, Gilmartin also earning a pair of assists.
On Wednesday at SUNY-Cortland, Westhill faces Lake Shore, from Section VI, in the state semifinal, the winner to go to Hofstra Saturday for the title game against Burnt Hills or Manhasset.
