AUBURN - Losing to Cicero-North Syracuse isn't what rankled Steve Crosby. The way the Auburn High boys lacrosse team folded like crepe paper inside a dictionary in Wednesday's 13-4 drubbing is what will take the Maroons' head coach a bit of extra time to get over.
Cicero-North Syracuse kept the pressure on Auburn during their 13-4 loss Wednesday as Northstar attack Nick Lococo tries to knock the ball away from Maroon midfielder Joe Taylor in the third quarter. Reid Silverman / The Citizen
Crosby hoped that Auburn's inspired performance on Monday, when a fourth-quarter rally nearly got them a win against Corcoran, would start a turnaround for a team that has now come up with just one win through its first seven games.
Instead, the Northstars (6-0) turned a 5-2 lead at halftime into a blowout by the end of the third quarter, scoring six unanswered goals in the period to put the game away.
Crosby felt the Maroons' system dissolved into fragmented lacrosse, particularly in the second half.
"There's been other times, today being a part of it, when we've played well initially, and then we got out of our systems a little bit, and things slipped away. We weren't doing just fundamental things out on the field.
The Maroons held a sizable advantage in ground balls at the half, 18-10, but they were outfought by the Northstars in the second half in that category, 16-14, as well as in shots (14-8) and faceoffs (6-5).
"I thought the first half was pretty sloppy; we threw the ball away a lot," said C-NS head coach Bill Aldrich. "But our whole key was picking up ground balls and winning at the faceoff. We're solid defensively, and we can score goals when we control the ball."
Auburn scored first with Brian Hoey assisting Jake Conway, and Matt Malenick's goal put Auburn back in it at 3-2 after a 3-0 C-NS run in the first period.
But sophomore Nick Lococo, who led C-NS with three goals and two assists, scored with 5:30 left in in the second quarter, and assisted on Tim Gilbert's score 25 seconds later, as the Northstars began to pull away.
Alongside Lococo, C-NS seniors Ryan Boda (four goals), Justin Ianzito (three goals, one assist) and Jeff Colburn (two goals) had big games, while another sophomore, Jeff Gilbert, pitched in with three assists.
Auburn continued losing ground to C-NS until the game was all but over.
Early in the fourth quarter Matt Chadderdon picked up a loose ball near the C-NS net, spun around a defender and fired past Danny Brown to make it 11-3.
Rob Steigerwald added an unassisted goal with under two minutes to play.
Auburn's starting goalie, senior Frank DiMora, made five saves and gave up nine goals before giving way to junior Pat Cameron, who came up with seven saves.
The Maroons are banged up - their co-captain and best offensive player, Ryan Lewis, is out until next week with a separated shoulder, Matt Foster is out for the season with an ACL injury, and goalie Nick Sigona and attack Dustin Sedor both have broken hands.
But, says Crosby, injuries have nothing to do with Auburn's basic need to recapture the kind of urgency it showed last season, when the Maroons won five of their last six games to earn a sectional playoff spot.
"We have to either come together and fix what these issues are and take care of them consistently, when teams are good or times are challenging, or we can continue in the manner that we're in right now," Crosby said. "Obviously, that's not the direction we want to go."
Instead, the Northstars (6-0) turned a 5-2 lead at halftime into a blowout by the end of the third quarter, scoring six unanswered goals in the period to put the game away.
Crosby felt the Maroons' system dissolved into fragmented lacrosse, particularly in the second half.
"There's been other times, today being a part of it, when we've played well initially, and then we got out of our systems a little bit, and things slipped away. We weren't doing just fundamental things out on the field.
The Maroons held a sizable advantage in ground balls at the half, 18-10, but they were outfought by the Northstars in the second half in that category, 16-14, as well as in shots (14-8) and faceoffs (6-5).
"I thought the first half was pretty sloppy; we threw the ball away a lot," said C-NS head coach Bill Aldrich. "But our whole key was picking up ground balls and winning at the faceoff. We're solid defensively, and we can score goals when we control the ball."
Auburn scored first with Brian Hoey assisting Jake Conway, and Matt Malenick's goal put Auburn back in it at 3-2 after a 3-0 C-NS run in the first period.
But sophomore Nick Lococo, who led C-NS with three goals and two assists, scored with 5:30 left in in the second quarter, and assisted on Tim Gilbert's score 25 seconds later, as the Northstars began to pull away.
Alongside Lococo, C-NS seniors Ryan Boda (four goals), Justin Ianzito (three goals, one assist) and Jeff Colburn (two goals) had big games, while another sophomore, Jeff Gilbert, pitched in with three assists.
Auburn continued losing ground to C-NS until the game was all but over.
Early in the fourth quarter Matt Chadderdon picked up a loose ball near the C-NS net, spun around a defender and fired past Danny Brown to make it 11-3.
Rob Steigerwald added an unassisted goal with under two minutes to play.
Auburn's starting goalie, senior Frank DiMora, made five saves and gave up nine goals before giving way to junior Pat Cameron, who came up with seven saves.
The Maroons are banged up - their co-captain and best offensive player, Ryan Lewis, is out until next week with a separated shoulder, Matt Foster is out for the season with an ACL injury, and goalie Nick Sigona and attack Dustin Sedor both have broken hands.
But, says Crosby, injuries have nothing to do with Auburn's basic need to recapture the kind of urgency it showed last season, when the Maroons won five of their last six games to earn a sectional playoff spot.
"We have to either come together and fix what these issues are and take care of them consistently, when teams are good or times are challenging, or we can continue in the manner that we're in right now," Crosby said. "Obviously, that's not the direction we want to go."
