When West Genesee flexed its muscles in the second half of Wednesday’s Section III Class A boys lacrosse championship game, Fayetteville-Manlius began to search for the answer it would never find, leading it to a 12-10 loss that made for a disappointing end to Doug Madden’s first year as head coach.
Madden and the Hornets found ways to contain the Wildcats in the first half, and even had the 5-4 edge at intermission, but West Genesee turned it on once the third quarter hit, which was too much for the Hornets to handle and gave head coach Mike Messere, who is retiring at the end of the season, sectional title number 31.
F-M, which beat Baldwinsville, a team it had lost to twice in the regular season, in comeback fashion to clinch its spot in this huge matchup, struggled to protect its halftime lead, as it conceded eight goals in the second half, compared to the five it scored.
It fought, though, and refused to go down easily. Senior Chris Lubrino accepted the challenge of putting the team on his back and trying to find a way to pull it out, as he accounted for seven Hornet goals, scoring five and assisting two in his final high school game.
This is the end of the road for the Hornets, who finish with a record of 11-8. The Wildcats (16-2) advance to face Ithaca, the winner of Section IV, Saturday afternoon.
