SKANEATELES – Ultimately, it required an all-out effort by a skilled and hungry rival to thwart the Marcellus boys lacrosse team’s dreams of an undefeated regular season.
In a tense thriller Friday night at Hyatt Stadium, Skaneateles held off the Mustangs 9-8, nearly squandering two different four-goal advantages before pulling it out.
Entering the game, Marcellus was 12-0, but not at full strength. Top defender Luke Spitzer, who was likely to shadow Lakers star Grayson Brunelle, was out, and the Mustangs were further damaged when Adam Rayfield, who leads the team with 45 goals, left the game in the second quarter, not to return.
Though Rayfield had a goal, Skaneateles threatened to get away, killing off several man-up situations and going up 5-1 with goals from five different players – Quinn Cheney, Grayson Brunelle, Ethan Hunt, Sean Kerwick and Landen Brunelle.
But Marcellus went on a 3-0 run late in the half to cut the margin to 5-4 at the break, the most spectacular play one where Chris Doshna, double-teamed, fell down, got up and then ran past both defenders before putting it past Jack Marquardt.
Shut out in the third quarter, the Mustangs saw Grayson Brunelle take command with two goals that, combined with one from Jack Torrey, extended the Skaneateles lead to 8-4 early in the final period.
Again, though, Marcellus wasn’t done. Nick Rayfield, Jimmy Cox and Henry Lawrence hit on consecutive goals that made it 8-7 before Brunelle countered with his fourth goal just 29 seconds after the Mustangs cut it to one.
Trailing 9-7 entering the final minute, Marcellus moved back within one on Cox’s third goal with 38.7 seconds left and won the ensuing face-off, only to have two possible game-tying shots sail wide of the net.
For the most part, the Lakers’ defense, led by Tyler Dell, Matt Snyder and Louis Richards, did a good job forcing turnovers and steering other chances away, but Marquardt and Luke Logan had to make 10 saves between them.
Before this, Skaneateles took its second loss of the season last Tuesday against Christian Brothers Academy at Hyatt Stadium, falling to the Brothers 10-8.
Above everything else, the Brothers’ defense stood out in the way it contained Grayson Brunelle, holding him to two goals and one assist as Matt Craybas finished with 10 saves.
Kerwick and Layden Brunelle also had two goals and one assist, with Hunt and Torrey getting the other goals. On the other end, it was Andrew Kohlbrenner scoring four times for CBA and six others getting one goal apiece to overcome 10 total saves from Jack Marquardt and Luke Logan.
Marcellus, meanwhile, had to work hard for a 13-10 win over defending sectional champion LaFayette/Onondaga where it jumped out to a 6-3 lead on the Lancersby the end of the first quarter, only to give it all away by halftime.
They stayed close until a fourth quarter where, once it got back its earlier margin, the Mustangs’ defense protected it well, Quenten Polkowski working his total to 10 saves.
Doryn LeClair carried the attack, his six goals and two assists equaling that of LaFayette’s Jameson Bucktooth. Adam Rayfield helped with three goals and two assists, while Doshna and Nick Rayfield each scored twice and Cox got three assists.