SOLVAY - Elation to confusion might be one way to describe the Skaneateles boys lacrosse team's journey over the past three days.
Skaneateles' Dan Hunt shoots and scores on West Genesee goalie Dan McKeon while under pressure from Jaren Woeppel and Tom Collins in their game Wednesday night in Solvay. Jason Rearick / The Citizen
The Lakers aced their first test of the early season on Monday when they routed Auburn 14-3.
But facing the three-time defending state Class A champions Wednesday night was another story entirely, as West Genesee had little trouble putting away Skaneateles 11-4 at Solvay High School.
Skaneateles (1-1) played very well in the first half - well enough to do everything but lead the game.
The Lakers outshot the Wildcats 8-4 in the first quarter and 11-6 in the second frame, getting many of their shots off in close proximity to West Genesee's goal, set up largely by Kyle Doctor's playmaking abilities.
"They're tough, especially the Doctor boy," said West Genesee (2-0) head coach Mike Messere. "Defensively, we were keeping them off balance, so they couldn't really get off a good shot. And our goalie made some really nice saves in there."
Indeed, Skaneateles caught West Genesee goalie Dan McKeon on a hot night. McKeon, a senior, played a dazzling game, particularly at those times when the rest of his team was arguably outplayed by the Lakers.
But first-quarter goals by Jeff Ryan and Collin Donahue, followed by a one-handed flip by Tim Spillett past Lakers goalie Bill Delaney in the second quarter, put the Wildcats up 3-0 at the break.
"In relative terms to the goal, we were close enough to challenge (McKeon)," said Skaneateles head coach Ron Doctor, "but he made some good stops. You get a couple of those, and you're better off in the second half."
After halftime, West Genesee turned the tables in terms of getting off shots, outperforming the Lakers 8-4 in the third quarter and 9-5 in the fourth.
Kyle Doctor finally got Skaneateles on the scoreboard with 9:24 to play in the third quarter, finishing off an ultra-quick spin move, and 2 1/2 minutes later, Dan Hunt closed the gap to 4-2.
But West Genesee got one back two minutes later, as Spillett found Mark Cometti wide open near Delaney with an out-of-bounds pass, and the Wildcats took a 6-2 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats took less than a minute of the early fourth quarter to rattle off three goals, putting the game out of reach from the Lakers at 9-2.
Hunt added consecutive goals, the second on a Chris Welch assist, to make it 10-4 and giving Hunt his second three-goal outing in as many games.
"They have a nice defensive scheme that kept us from really getting in close to the goal," Messere said of the Lakers. "Once we got a little more patient, we started finding things. You try and find where their weaknesses are."
The late onslaught by West Genesee appeared to dishearten the Lakers, who trudged off the artificial turf quietly after an extended postgame address from Ron Doctor.
But chances of Skaneateles pulling off the upset had to be slim against West Genesee, a seemingly letdown-proof team which hasn't lost since early last season.
"Coach Messere really honors us by putting us on his schedule," Doctor said. "They like to play against us, and it's obviously great competition for us, even though their depth really showed through as the game went on."
Skaneateles will play its first league game Tuesday against Tully, again at Solvay at 6 p.m.
But facing the three-time defending state Class A champions Wednesday night was another story entirely, as West Genesee had little trouble putting away Skaneateles 11-4 at Solvay High School.
Skaneateles (1-1) played very well in the first half - well enough to do everything but lead the game.
The Lakers outshot the Wildcats 8-4 in the first quarter and 11-6 in the second frame, getting many of their shots off in close proximity to West Genesee's goal, set up largely by Kyle Doctor's playmaking abilities.
"They're tough, especially the Doctor boy," said West Genesee (2-0) head coach Mike Messere. "Defensively, we were keeping them off balance, so they couldn't really get off a good shot. And our goalie made some really nice saves in there."
Indeed, Skaneateles caught West Genesee goalie Dan McKeon on a hot night. McKeon, a senior, played a dazzling game, particularly at those times when the rest of his team was arguably outplayed by the Lakers.
But first-quarter goals by Jeff Ryan and Collin Donahue, followed by a one-handed flip by Tim Spillett past Lakers goalie Bill Delaney in the second quarter, put the Wildcats up 3-0 at the break.
"In relative terms to the goal, we were close enough to challenge (McKeon)," said Skaneateles head coach Ron Doctor, "but he made some good stops. You get a couple of those, and you're better off in the second half."
After halftime, West Genesee turned the tables in terms of getting off shots, outperforming the Lakers 8-4 in the third quarter and 9-5 in the fourth.
Kyle Doctor finally got Skaneateles on the scoreboard with 9:24 to play in the third quarter, finishing off an ultra-quick spin move, and 2 1/2 minutes later, Dan Hunt closed the gap to 4-2.
But West Genesee got one back two minutes later, as Spillett found Mark Cometti wide open near Delaney with an out-of-bounds pass, and the Wildcats took a 6-2 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats took less than a minute of the early fourth quarter to rattle off three goals, putting the game out of reach from the Lakers at 9-2.
Hunt added consecutive goals, the second on a Chris Welch assist, to make it 10-4 and giving Hunt his second three-goal outing in as many games.
"They have a nice defensive scheme that kept us from really getting in close to the goal," Messere said of the Lakers. "Once we got a little more patient, we started finding things. You try and find where their weaknesses are."
The late onslaught by West Genesee appeared to dishearten the Lakers, who trudged off the artificial turf quietly after an extended postgame address from Ron Doctor.
But chances of Skaneateles pulling off the upset had to be slim against West Genesee, a seemingly letdown-proof team which hasn't lost since early last season.
"Coach Messere really honors us by putting us on his schedule," Doctor said. "They like to play against us, and it's obviously great competition for us, even though their depth really showed through as the game went on."
Skaneateles will play its first league game Tuesday against Tully, again at Solvay at 6 p.m.
The Citizens' Say
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