A strong first half gave Fayetteville-Manlius the ability to overcome a few second half obstacles and come away with the 13-7 home win over Marcellus.
F-M (2-0) entered the halftime huddle with a 9-2 lead and things were looking good for the Hornets. But adversity eventually struck and tested their perseverance, which is when they were able to hold down the fort.
The third quarter saw F-M struggle to play a clean game, as they would commit five of the six penalties that they were called for in the game. One of the penalties was called on senior Brett Barlow, who was called for unsportsmanlike conduct on a physical play that turned into an altercation.
That series of events allowed the emotions of the game to become intense and Marcellus began to put pressure on goalie Ryan Boshart of F-M.
After struggling to get a shot on goal in the first half, the road team forced Boshart to get in front of 11 shots in the game. Four of the saves came in the fourth quarter of play.
He gave the offense the proper and much-needed cushion to fall back on, allowing them to be relaxed while having a sense of urgency.
Because of that, on the attacking third and half of the field, F-M was able to move the ball more, leading to the rise in the number of assists. In the season opener against Auburn, the Hornets had three assists, but, in this game, they moved the ball more and recorded seven helpers.
Seniors Mac Fish and Donovan Welsh were big parts of that. The duo combined for six of those seven assists on top of three of the goals that the team scored. Fish ended up taking ten shots while Welsh let 11 go.
Their fellow senior, Ryan Cicci, and junior Luke Burnam had a similar impact on the game. Both Burnam and Cicci had three points, as Burnam scored a trio of goals and Cicci had two goals and an assist.
Teddy Wells added a pair of goals, including one that came off of a shot that was taken as he was off-balance.
Wells and his teammates got the job done despite the roller-coaster that they found themselves on throughout the game.
Great job Joey on the game recaps! And an enjoyable read. One change, Brett did not get ejected, only an unsportsmanlike penalty. Thanks for being on the sideline and supporting your classmates.
Thanks, Coach