A new season kicks off for two local boys lacrosse teams and it couldn't be a bigger deal for both Auburn and Skaneateles.

The Maroons and Lakers each come into today's games riding win streaks, but none of that matters with their season on the line. Second-ranked Skaneateles plays No. 7 Christian Brothers Academy in the Section III, Class C quarterfinals at Solvay High School, while fifth-ranked Auburn travels to fourth-ranked Liverpool in the first round of the Section III, Class A playoffs today.

“We talked all week about how all that's guarenteed is today's game,” Maroons coach Steve Crosby said.

The Maroons are riding a five-game win streak into Liverpool including an 11-8 win over the Warriors last week.

“I'm sure Liverpool made some adjustments, as well as we did,” Crosby said.

The Maroons defense has had their share of success in the past five games in large part because of defensive coordinator JT Pitcher's game plan he's been running. During the streak they have only allowed an average of 3.6 goals per game.

“The defense has risen up and done well,” Crosby said. However, the Maroons still have had some problems with playing a full 48-minute game, something that will be important in the new season. Against Liverpool, though, they played their closest full game all season.

“We need to make sure we're exceeding Liverpool's intensity,” Crosby said. “We need to bring a lot of fire with us.”

Given the dynamic junior duo of Andrew Chadderdon and Connor Entenmann, the Maroons find themselves in a good position. Entenmann led the Maroons with 72 points, while 41 of them were goals and 31 of them were assists. Chadderdon also scored 41 goals, but only had 15 assists for 56 points.

“They both had terrific season,” Crosby said. “They lead by example and did a good job of getting up and down the field. They've responded well to some adjustments we made as well as the whole team.”

For their match up with the Warriors, the Maroons have worked on tightening up for the transitions and worked on issuing the three man-up on goals.

“Their a very talented team,” Crosby said. “We need to value possessions and take care of the ball.”

Offensive coordinator John Montone has done a good job with scoring in the past five games. In the five game win streak they are averaging 12 goals per game, while scoring 21 on Utica Proctor to start the streak off.

“Both coaches are implanting their own things,” Crosby said. “They're having things come along. We need to come out and perform in all aspects of the game and take care of business.”

Skaneateles (16-1) on the other hand is currently riding a seven game win streak, including a 10-9 victory over Christian Brothers Academy in the regular season.

In their previous meeting with the Brothers the Lakers were down 9-4 heading into half-time, but that's when the Lakers offense and defense turned it on a notch as they went on a 6-0 run including the game-winning goal in overtime.

Their only loss on the season came against LaFayette by a score of 13-9 that snapped an 11-game win streak.

A key force of their success has come from its defense in which they've allowed just 4.9 goals on the season including a shutout against Cazenovia back in April. Just as powerful as their defense has been, so has their offense with an average of 11 goals per game.