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GCC hosts national lacrosse tournament, Onondago CC wins crown for third time

By Howard B. Owens

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Press release:

In a rematch of the 2018 NJCAA Men’s Lacrosse National Championship game, #3 Onondaga Community College and #1 Nassau Community College Lions needed overtime to settle the 2019 edition.

In the end, Offensive Most Valuable Player Percy Booth scored the game-winning goal with 17 seconds remaining, to give Onondaga their third-consecutive National Championship, defeating Nassau 7-6 on Sunday afternoon at Genesee Community College.

In a game that went back and forth throughout its entirety, the two teams played in a defensive match with goaltenders. Frank Delia (Onondaga CC) and both Gunnar Luckoski and Anthony Kennin (Nassau CC) played outstandingly well throughout the National Championship game.

Percy Booth from Onondaga had a hat trick on the day, including scoring the game-winner in the overtime period. Kyle Worsley scored two goals and added an assist for the Lazers. Karl Flinter also scored for Onondaga. Frank Delia made 19 saves between the pipes for Onondaga.

Liam Muldoon led the way offensively for Nassau scoring a pair of goals. Justin Roderka also scored two goals. Dan Rooney scored one goal and tallied three assists and Matt Russo also scored for the Lions.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM members include:

  • Jackson Kranzy – Howard CC
  • Tim Russell – Howard CC
  • Jack Watsic – Howard CC
  • Eli Doyle – Harford CC
  • Tyler Wagoner – Harford CC
  • Moriah Yousefi – Harford CC
  • Liam Muldoon – Nassau CC
  • John Ehlers – Nassau CC
  • Justin Rodereka – Nassau CC
  • Gavin Kesserling – Onondaga CC
  • Phil Barilla – Onondaga CC
  • Eli Dandelaught – Onondaga CC  
  • Offensive Most Valuable Player – Percy Booth (Onondaga CC)
  • Defensive Most Valuable Player – Frank Delia (Onondaga CC)
  • National Coach of the Tournament – Eric Miccio (Onondaga CC)

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GCC's lacrosse team wins national championship

By Howard B. Owens

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Press release:

For the first time in the program's history, the Genesee Community College Men's Lacrosse Team captured the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Championship after defeating Onondaga CC 13-12 in overtime on Sunday afternoon.

The fourth-seeded Cougars snapped a seven-year streak in which OCC won the title, becoming just the third different team to be crowned national champions since 2006.

Genesee trailed 1-0 early in the first but tied it at the 11:37 mark when Pat Van Bortle scored off of an assist from Alex Henry. Jacob Bomberry followed with his first of three goals in the game just 20 seconds later and gave GCC a 2-1 lead.

OCC, the No. 2 seed, ended the opening quarter with three straight goals and took a 6-2 lead five minutes into the second to build what would be its largest lead of the afternoon.

Genesee capitalized on a man-up opportunity and ended its scoreless stretch when Van Bortle recorded his second goal with 9:14 to play in the half. Davis Prince cut the deficit to two with an unassisted goal at 6:24 and just over a minute later the Cougars were within one after Jonah Mohawk found the back of the net to make it 6-5.

The Lazers went into the half scoring back-to-back goals, including one with just six seconds left, and led 8-5 at the break.

Another man-up goal for GCC started the scoring in the second half when Van Bortle set Up Sherman Williams for his first of the game halfway through the third to cut the OCC lead down to two. The Lazers responded less than a minute later to extend their lead back to three before Williams struck again on a man-up opportunity to make it a 9-7 game.

Both teams exchanged goals to end the third as Bomberry got his second of the game for GCC and he scored again early in the fourth to get the Cougars to within one at 10-9. Williams then scored back-to-back goals at 11:24 and 10:40 and GCC held its first lead since the first quarter at 11-10.

OCC got the equalizer even strength and then scored a man-up goal with just over six minutes to play to regain the lead at 12-11. But Van Bortle wasn't done and tied it at 12 with 3:43 left in regulation and after a scoreless duration of the fourth, the game went into overtime.

Both teams held a possession early in the extra session but could not cash in, until with just 1:14 left in overtime, Van Bortle found an opportunity in front of the OCC net and scored his fourth goal of the afternoon to send GCC to its first national title.

Van Bortle, named the tournament's offensive MVP, finished with six points in the game adding a pair of assists to his four goals. Williams also tallied four goals and Bomberry finished with six points, scoring three goals and assisting on three.

Darin Eakins was named the tournament' defensive MVP and made 14 saves in net. Reed Hnidy led the GCC defense with six ground balls and caused five turnovers and Kyle Dalrymple and Mike Caternolo each collected four ground balls. Caternolo was also 10 for 27 on face-offs.

Genesee's national championship season ends with a 15-4 overall record. It is the College's second national title in school history and first since 1971 (bowling).

Genesee reaches final four after win over Suffolk

By Andrew Crofts

The No. 4 nationally-ranked GCC men's lacrosse team is headed to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Final Four after an 11-9 win over visiting Suffolk County Community College in the opening round of the tournament on Saturday.

Suffolk took the early lead in the first ever national tournament game hosted by GCC. The Sharks scored at the 8:05 mark to take a 1-0 advantage.

Genesee got the equalizer from Brody Jorgenson with 3:50 left in the first quarter and Cyrus Spruce followed 40-seconds later to give GCC a 2-1 lead.

With the game tied at two early in the second, Drew Horton scored to make it 3-2 Genesee, but Suffolk answered quickly to tie it up at three.

Alex Henry went 50 yards on his own to score unassisted at the 5:42 mark of the second and John Jimmerson extended the Cougars' lead to 5-3 with a goal 41-seconds later. GCC took the two-goal lead into the half.

Suffolk cut the lead to one with a man-up goal early in the second half before GCC scored three straight to take an 8-4 lead. Jimmy Smith scored twice and Colton Reformat added one. The Sharks added another man-up goal late in the third to cut the lead to 8-5 at the end of three.

Suffolk scored back-to-back to start the fourth and GCC's lead was down to one at 8-7. Spruce ended the SCCC scoring stretch with his second goal of the game at the 11:55 mark and Jorgenson followed with his second goal of the game just nine seconds after to make it 10-7 Genesee.

After Suffolk again cut the GCC lead down to one with back-to-back goals, Nick Lavoy added an insurance goal with 49-seconds remaining, and the Cougars held on for the two-goal victory.

Mike Caternolo was eight for 10 on face-offs and also had six ground balls.

Jorgenson was four of six on face-offs and collected four ground balls and Henry led the Cougars with three takeaways.

Corey Luty made 10 saves in net to earn the victory, which was the first national tournament win for GCC in school history.

Genesee (12-4) will advance to its fourth NJCAA Final Four in school history and take on No. 1 Onondaga CC (15-0) on Sat., May 9 in Baltimore, MD at 1 p.m.

Genesee falls to Onondaga in men's lacrosse Region 3 finals

By Andrew Crofts

The No. 4 nationally-ranked Cougars could not stop No. 1 Onondaga Community College from winning its 11th consecutive Region III Championship, falling to the Lazers 24-4 on Sunday afternoon at OCC.

Genesee kept pace early on and after OCC took a 1-0 lead 3:35 into the first quarter, the Cougars answered when Cyrus Spruce found the back of the net on the man-up at the 7:30 mark  for his 41st goal of the season.

Onondaga went on to score four straight goals to end the first period and held a 9-1 lead before GCC scored again. John Jimerson made it 9-2 with a goal with just under five minutes to play in the half and after OCC scored on the man-up, Jimmy Smith returned the favor with a man-up goal for Genesee with 3:16 to play in the second quarter to make it 10-3. The Lazers went on a 3-0 run to end the half and led 13-3 at the break.

Kyle Fabian gave GCC the first goal of the second half, scoring unassisted less than a minute in. That would be the last time Genesee would find the back of the net, however, as OCC scored the final 11 goals of the game en-route to its 103rd consecutive victory.

Jimerson led Genesee with four ground balls and also had one takeaway. Alex Henry recorded three ground balls and three takeaways and Oliver Stoudt had two ground balls and one caused turnover.

Colton Reformat went 7-14 on face-offs, Mike Caternolo was 4-13 and Ray Tague was 1-4.

Corey Luty and Brian Thielman combined to make 13 saves in net.  

Smith and Spruce were both named to the all-tournament team for GCC.                           

Genesee (11-4), which qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Tournament with a win on Saturday against Dean College in the regional semifinals, will await its seed and pairing for the tournament, which will begin on May 2.

No. 4 Cougars advance to regional semis after win over Monroe

By Andrew Crofts

The No. 4 nationally-ranked GCC men's lacrosse team is headed to the Region III Semifinals after a 22-2 win over Monroe Community College on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

The Cougars, the No. 2 seed in the regional tournament, saw 14 different players record a point in the game.

Genesee led start to finish in a game that was never in doubt. The Cougars held a 10-1 lead at halftime and scored six goals in the first five minutes of the second half to keep the game out of reach.

Jacob Bomberry led the offense with five goals and two assists for seven points in the game. Cyrus Spruce scored four goals and added an assist, Mitchell Kinney had three goals and an assist, Jimmy Smith added a goal and three assists, Joshua Wester finished with two goals and an assist and Evan Jacob and Brody Jorgenson both scored two goals apiece.

Alex Henry led the defense with four takeaways and he also assisted on a goal. Reed Hnidy collected a team-high seven ground balls and had two takeaways and an assist.

Ray Tague went 8 for 9 on face-offs, Colton Reformat finished 7 for 9 and Mike Caternolo was 6 for 7.

Corey Luty made eight saves in net for Genesee, which advances to the semifinals and will face Dean College on Saturday at Onondaga CC. Face-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and the winner will receive an automatic bid into the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Tournament. 

Genesee blanks Mohawk Valley; sets school record in win

By Andrew Crofts

The No. 4 Genesee Community College men's lacrosse team extended its shutout streak to two games in a row, blanking visiting Mohawk Valley Community College on Thursday afternoon, 32-0.

Brian Thielman earned a shutout win at Niagara County CC on Tuesday and made five saves in net on Thursday to extend the streak to eight consecutive quarters.

Jacob Bomberry scored seven goals and had three assists, Lukas Baildon added five goals and two assists and Colin Brillian had three goals.

Joshua Wester finished with six ground balls and three takeaways and also added a goal to lead the midfield.

Mike Caternolo was a perfect 11 for 11 on face-offs and Ray Tague went 9 for 13.

The 32 goals set a new school record for most goals in a single game.

Genesee (5-3) will return to action on Apr. 12 on the road at Jefferson Community College. The game will be played at General Brown Turf Field and face-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.

 

 

No. 4 Cougars fall to No. 1 Onondaga 16-8

By Andrew Crofts

(GCC's Reed Hnidy (#12 white) challenges an OCC attack on Saturday afternoon)

 

The No. 4 Cougars lost a 16-8 decision to visiting No. 1 Onondaga Community College on Saturday afternoon, falling to 3-3 on the season.

OCC scored the first five goals of the game before Genesee responded. Brody Jorgenson and Reed Hnidy scored back-to-back goals to end the first quarter and cut the Lazers' lead down to three.

Jimmy Smith scored five minutes into the second quarter to get GCC to within two at 5-3, but OCC ended the half with two straight tallies and led 7-3 at the break.

The Lazers extended their lead to 10-3 early on in the second half before Cyrus Spruce scored his first of two goals in the game at the 12:12 mark of the third and John Jimerson followed with a goal at the 8:27 mark to cut the OCC lead down to five.

Onondaga held a 12-6 lead going into the fourth and outscored Genesee 4-2 in the final period to earn the win. Jacob Bomberry and Spruce tallied the two goals for GCC in the final quarter.

Bomberry led the offense with two goals and two assists and Mitchell Kinneyadded two assists.

Hnidy finished with a goal, seven ground balls and four takeaways. 

Brian Thielman made 15 saves in net.

Genesee will return to action on the road on Tuesday at Niagara County Community College. Face-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Seven Cougars named All-Region in men's lacrosse

By Andrew Crofts

Seven members of the Genesee Community College men's lacrosse team were recently named to the 2014 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region III All-Region team. Sophomore midfielder Pete DiLaura (Chili, NY) and sophomore defenseman Johnny Astrologo (Mahopac, NY) were both selected to the first team and freshman attacks Dana Ray (Allegany Territory) and Joshua Wester (Livonia, NY), sophomore midfielder Tyler Skowronski (Clarence, NY), freshman defender Jesse Jimerson (Six Nations, ON) and sophomore goalkeeper Craig Seneca (Cattarugus Territory) were selected to the second team.

DiLaura had the sixth highest ground ball total in the country this year with 90, which led the team. He scored five goals, added five assists and led the team in takeaways with 60.

Astrologo started in all 15 games this spring. He was second on the team in ground balls with 59 and second in takeaways with 53. He also earned NJCAA All-American honors as a second team selection this year.

Ray scored a team-high 32 goals and 24 assits, totaling a team-best 56 points. He made 13 starts during his freshman season.

Wester was third on the team in total points with 47, scoring 22 goals and adding 25 assists. He totaled 30 ground balls and caused nine turnovers, playing in 13 games this spring.

Skowronski tallied 37 points. He scored 20 goals and had 17 assists. He also had 10 takeaways and collected 31 ground balls, appearing in every game this year for GCC.

Jimerson equaled the third highest ground ball total on the team with 49. He caused 38 turnovers and had two points offensively, scoring a goal and adding an assist.

Seneca had the third highest save percentage in the NJCAA this season at 64.3 percent. He made 184 total saves and held the sixth lowest goals against average in the country at 8.81.

Genesee finished the 2014 season ranked No. 4 in the NJCAA National Poll. The Cougars reached the Region III semifinals for the fourth consecutive year and had its three year run of national tournament appearances snapped after just missing out on an at-large bid.

GCC women's lacrosse pair selected All-Region

By Andrew Crofts

 

Genesee Community College's Ashley Makowski (Kendall, NY) and Kaleigh Murray (Syracuse, NY) were recently selected to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) women's lacrosse Region III All-Region team. Makowski was named to the All-Region first team and Murray was named to the All-Region second team.

In her freshman season, Makowski led the Cougars in assists with 12 and was second on the team in goals (20) and total points (32). She played in and started all ten games this spring for GCC, collected 27 ground balls and caused 14 turnovers. She was also selected to the Western New York Athletic Conference (WNYAC) All-Conference first team this spring.

Murray, a freshman, scored a team-leading 33 goals this season, the second highest single-season mark in school history. She added three assists to total a team-high 36 points and controlled 26 draws. She was also named to the WNYAC All-Conference first team this year.

Genesee advanced to the Region III playoffs for the first time in school history this spring. The Cougars set the school record for most wins in a season, finishing the year 6-4.

GCC's Astrologo earns men's lacrosse All-American honors

By Andrew Crofts

(Astrologo)

 

Genesee Community College men's lacrosse defenseman Johnny Astrologo (Mahopac, NY) was recently named a 2014 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American. He was named to the All-American second team.

A sophomore, Astrologo was a team captain and played in and started all 15 games for the Cougars this spring. He was second on the team in both ground balls (59) and caused turnovers (53), totals that were 17th and 2nd best in all of the NJCAA this season, respectively.

He was named to the NJCAA Region III All-Region first team and the Western New York Athletic Conference (WNYAC) All-Conference second team this season as well and was an All-Conference first team selection last year as a freshman.

"Johnny is someone that the coaches and his teammates look up to as a leader because you know exactly what you are going to get from him each day," said GCC assistant coach Derek Hoover. "He's a hardworking player that will do whatever is asked of him on and off the field.  I am very pleased that he will be receiving this award because as a defenseman, you don't always get all the praise after each game. Johnny always played against the opposing team's top players and was very successful in his two years with us," Hoover said.

During his two-year career at Genesee, Astrologo started all 33 of the team's games, tallied 112 ground balls and had 112 takeaways. He will transfer and continue his athletic and academic career at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Dowling College in Oakdale, NY. The Golden Lions compete in the East Coast Conference and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II National Championships this spring.

GCC men's lacrosse falls in NJCAA semifinals

By Andrew Crofts

GARDEN CITY: No.2 Genesee Community College was unable to get by No.3 Nassau Community College in the NJCAA National Men’s Lacrosse Final Four Semifinals on Saturday afternoon, falling by a final score of 15-6 and bringing the Cougars’ season to an end.

Genesee got on the board first after Tyler Skowronski scored just over three-minutes in to give GCC a 1-0 lead. Nassau tied it three minutes later and then converted on the man-up with a goal at the 8:03 mark to take a 2-1 lead. The Lions scored two more times before the end of the opening period and led 4-1 after one.

Nassau upped its lead to 5-1 less than thirty-seconds into the second quarter and made it 6-1 at the 3:32 mark before the game was delayed nearly an hour due to weather.

After the restart, Nassau took advantage of another man-up situation and scored with eight-minutes remaining in the half to take a 7-1 lead. Genesee had a chance to cut into the deficit late in the second quarter, but could not capitalize on a three-man advantage. Nassau scored two more times before the end of the half and led 9-1 at the break.

Blake Hurt broke a nearly 27-minute scoring drought for GCC with a goal just 40-seconds into the second half to get the Cougars to within 9-2. Nassau answered quickly to make it 10-2 and then scored with a two-man advantage to increase its lead to 11-2. Hurt scored again for GCC with just over a minute left in the third and the Cougars trailed 11-3 going into the fourth quarter.

Nassau struck twice early in the fourth, including another goal with a two-man advantage, before Chris Rabung got a man-up goal for GCC to make it 14-4. Saxon Weil and Christian Reiller followed with a goal each for Genesee to get the Cougars to within 14-6, but Nassau finished the scoring with a goal at the 2:56 mark and ended GCC’s season with a nine-goal victory.

Brady Lawrence made 14 saves in net for GCC on the afternoon. Of GCC’s 27 shots, 15 were on net.

The Cougars were successful two out of eight times with the man advantage in the game and allowed five man-up goals to Nassau.

Genesee ends the season with a 15-3 overall record.

GCC men's lacrosse falls in regional championship, take No.2 seed into National Tournament

By Andrew Crofts

The No.2 Genesee Community College men's lacrosse team fell to No.1 Onondaga Community College 15-8 on Sunday afternoon in the Region III Championship at Herkimer County Community College.

The Cougars started off fast scoring the first two goals of the game. Nick Gray got GCC on the board first with a goal at the 13:37 mark. Luke Grahnert had the assist. Gray then set up Christian Reiller who scored at the 10:22 mark to give Genesee a 2-0 lead. Onondaga came back to score the next two goals and the game was 2-2 after one.

GCC started the second quarter the same as the first, scoring two quick goals to take a 4-2 lead. Marcus Palvino and Cam Seneca had the Genesee goals. The Lazers got  one goal back late in the second quarter but GCC took a 4-3 lead into the half.

Onondaga took the lead in the third quarter, scoring the first five goals of the period to take an 8-4 lead. Seneca broke the GCC scoreless drought with a goal at the 6:41 mark, one of two goals he scored in the third. OCC led 10-6 after three.

Genesee was unable to draw closer in the fourth as the Lazers outscored the Cougars 5-2 in the final frame to win the Region III Championship and take the #1 seed in the NJCAA National Tournament.

Brady Lawrence played well in net for GCC, making 23 saves on the afternoon.

Seneca led all scorers with three goals, Gray finished the game with a goal and two assists, Reiller added a goal and two assists, Palvino finished with two goals, Saxon Weil chipped in a goal and Blake Hurt, Tyler Skowronski, and Grahnert each had one assist.

Johnny Astrologo and Jordan McElligott led the defense with three takeaways each.

Lawrence, Seneca and Charlie Evans were all named to the All-Tournament Team.

Genesee will enter the NJCAA National Tournament as the number two seed and have a bye until the semifinals. The Final Four will be played May 11th and 12th at Nassau Community College in Garden City, NY.

GCC men's lacrosse rolls in Region 3 opening round

By Andrew Crofts

The No.2 Genesee Community College men's lacrosse team overcame a slow start to down visiting Dean College (MA) 17-4 in the opening game of the Region III playoffs on Wednesday night.

Neither team got much going to begin the first quarter and Genesee was forced to go on the penalty kill early. After successfully killing off a man-down situation, Marcus Palvino gave GCC a 1-0 lead just shy of eight minutes into the opening frame.

Dean tied it just 30-seconds later and the Cougars again faced a penalty kill situation, this time down two men. Genesee successfully killed off both penalties and after returning to full-strength, Jonathan Gill scored his first of six goals in the game to give GCC a 2-1 lead with five-minutes remaining in the first.

Charlie Evans made it 3-1 after the Cougars killed off another penalty and Genesee took a two-goal lead into the second.

Christian Reiller and Cameron Seneca scored the first two goals of the second to put GCC in front 5-1 and the penalty kill came through again before goals from Reiller and Gill gave Genesee a 7-2 lead. The Cougars took a 7-3 lead into the break.

The third quarter was all Genesee as the home team out-scored the visitors 6-0 in the period to take a 13-3 lead into the fourth.

Seneca answered an early fourth quarter Dean goal before Gill recorded three consecutive goals to end the game and advance Genesee to the Region West Championship and a chance at an automatic bid into the NJCAA National Tournament.

Gill finished with six goals and an assist, Reiller added three goals and three assists, Palvino scored four times and also had an assist, Seneca finished with two goals and two assists, Tyler Skowronski and Saxon Weil each had two assists and Chris Rabung scored once.

Along with his goal, Evans was 6-9 on face-offs, Mike Breindel was 6-9 and Mike Tolli was 4-6.

Jordan McElligott and Pete DiLaura led the defense with four takeaways and seven ground balls each and Brady Lawrence made 23 saves in net.

Genesee will play for their chance at the automatic bid on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Opponent to be determined.

GCC women's lacrosse drops final home game to Niagara

By Andrew Crofts

Denae McGrath scored three goals for the Genesee Community College women's lacrosse team on Wednesday night, but it was not enough as the Lady Cougars fell to visiting Niagara County Community College, 16-4 in their final regular season home game of the season.

McGrath's first goal came at the 11:08 mark of the first half to cut Niagara's lead down to 3-1. Cassandra Dembik scored four-minutes later to get GCC to within 3-2 and Genesee was able to hang around. McGrath responded to a Niagara goal with her second goal of the game to keep the Lady Cougars within one, at 4-3.

The Lady Thunderwolves took control of the game in the final ten-minutes of the first half, however, scoring five unanswered goals to end the opening period, upping their lead to 9-3.

Niagara made it 13-3 before McGrath scored her third goal of the game late in the second half and the Lady Thunderwolves cashed in three more times before the night was over to earn the victory.

Sarah Bosa made 18 saves in net for Genesee.

Genesee falls to 0-7 on the season and will travel to Herkimer County Community College on Saturday for a 1 p.m. start.

No.2 Cougars roll Broome CC

By Andrew Crofts

The No.2 Genesee Community College men's lacrosse team scored the first nine goals of the game on Wednesday night to roll past the visiting Hornets of Broome Community College by a final score of 20-4.

Cameron Seneca scored three first quarter goals to help GCC to a 7-0 lead after one.

Jonathan Gill scored two of his four first half goals in the second quarter and the Cougars did not allow Broome to score until the 8:40 mark of the second frame. GCC led 12-2 at the break.

Genesee scored five times in the third quarter, including two goals from Chris Rabung, and allowed only one Hornets goal to increase its lead to 17-3 after three.

Rabung rounded out the scoring at the 7:14 mark of the fourth quarter, following goals from Blake Hurt and Saxon Weil, who also scored three times on the night, and Genesee cruised to its 12th win of the season.

Gill led the offense and added two assists to his four goals, Weil added two assists to his three goals, Rabung finished with three goals and an assist, Christian Reiller had three assists on the night and Charlie Evans, Tyler Meegan and Doug Ellsworth all had a goal and an assist.

Evans was 9-12 on face-offs, Mike Tolli was 5-6 and Mike Breindel was 5-9.

Brady Lawrence made two saves in 30-minutes of work it net, Craig Seneca made one save in 15-minutes and Mark Pucek made five saves in 15-minutes of play.

Pete DiLaura led the defense with five takeaways and seven ground balls and Tyler Skowronski had five takeaways.

Genesee improves to 12-1 overall on the season and will host Finger Lakes Community College in their final regular season home game on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

GCC men's lacrosse wins two weekend games; Captures WNYAC Title

By Andrew Crofts

For the second straight year the Genesee Community College men's lacrosse team are the Western New York Athletic Conference champions after defeating Mercyhurst North East on Sunday and finishing a perfect 4-0 in conference play this season.

The game resumed after being postponed due to weather on April 10th with 50-seconds remaining in the first quarter and the Cougars on top 4-1. Chris Rabung made it 5-1 with a goal just after the restart to give GCC, which took over the No. 2 NJCAA National raking this week, a four goal lead after one.

Genesee scored ten times in second quarter including three from Christian Reiller, who finished with six in the game, and two from Nick Gray. GCC led 15-3 at the half.

The Cougars kept up their strong play in the second half, leading 19-3 after three and cruising to a 24-5 victory.

Brady Lawrence played a total of 36 minutes in net and then gave way to Mark Pucek who played 24 minutes. Both combined to make nine saves.

Mike Tolli was 7-8 on face-offs on the afternoon.

Pete DiLaura led the defense with four takeaways, five ground balls and two assists. Johnny Astrologo, Jordan McElligott, Bobby Wheeler, Adam Jacobs, Evan Horton, Jon Ryan and Blair Berg combined for 10 takeaways and 10 ground balls.

Reiller finished with six goals, Gray posted four goals and two assists, Rabung ended with three goals, Dave Ellsworth added a goal and two assists, Doug Ellsworth chipped in two goals, Jonathan Gill and Tyler Meegan each scored two goals, Luke Grahnert added a goal and an assist and Marcus Palvino and Blake Hurt each assisted on two goals.

Sunday's win followed a 14-5 Cougars win over Cayuga Community College on Saturday.

Genesee is now 11-1 overall on the season and will host Broome Community College this Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

GCC women's lacrosse falls in home opener

By Andrew Crofts

The Genesee Community College women's lacrosse team fell to 0-2 on the young season after losing to Monroe Community College 26-0 on Saturday afternoon in their home opener.

MCC led 18-0 at the half and controlled possession throughout the game.

Sarah Bosa made 13 saves in net for GCC and Jordan Powell had four draw controls in the game.

The Lady Cougars will return to action on Wednesday afternoon when they host Jefferson Community College for a 4 p.m. start.

(Rachel Ball (white) fights for the opening draw for GCC)

Gill scores game winner; Cougars win in 2OT

By Andrew Crofts

Jonathan Gill scored the game winning goal 2:17 into the second overtime on Friday afternoon, to help the No.3 Genesee Community College men's lacrosse team defeat No.2 Community College of Baltimore County Essex, 15-14.

Genesee trailed 6-3 after the first quarter but rallied to score the only four goals of the second quarter to take a 7-6 lead into the half. Gill started the scoring in the second period with a goal, his second of the game, just one minute in to get GCC back to within two. Pete DiLaura followed just ten-seconds later after he collected a ground ball off of the faceoff and walked in on the Essex defense to get Genesee to within 6-5. Christian Reiller tied the game at six with his 28th goal of the season before Saxon Weil gave the Cougars a 7-6 lead with just under a minute left in the opening half.

Essex responded early in the second half and scored four consecutive goals in the first eight minutes of the third quarter to take a 10-7 lead. The Cougars then took advantage of a three-minute Essex penalty and scored three man-up goals to tie the game at ten. Luke Grahnert started the scoring and Marcus Palvino and Gill followed. Reiller then gave Genesee back the lead at the 12:25 mark before Essex tied it at 11 apiece with less than a minute to play in the third.

Essex broke the tie early in the fourth quarter, scoring 3:04 into the final period, but Gill got the goal back just ten-seconds later for GCC to tie the game at 12. Essex then took advantage of a Genesee penalty and scored a man-up goal at the 4:48 mark to take a 13-12 lead. After five-minutes of scoreless play, Reiller scored his third goal of the game to tie it at 13 with just over five-minutes to play. The Cougars took the lead at the 11:41 mark when Reiller assisted Nick Gray with his 11th goal of the season, but with just four-seconds remaining and a man-up, Essex tied the game at 14-14 to send it into overtime.

In the first overtime session, goalkeeper Brady Lawrence came up with one of a number of big saves on the afternoon to keep Genesee alive. The Cougars nearly ended the game with less than a minute to play in the extra session, but a Reiller shot went just over the top of the CCBC-Essex net.

(Goalkeeper Brady Lawrence comes up with a big save in overtime to keep GCC alive)

 

In the second overtime, both teams had a chance before Gill collected a ground ball rebound and beat the Essex goalkeeper to give Genesee the win.

Gill finished with five goals and one assist and Lawrence made 23 saves including four in the overtime sessions.

Reiller added three goals and three assists, Palvino finished with two goals and five assists, Grahnert also added an assist with his goal and Chris Rabung, Tyler Skowronski, Gray, DiLaura and Weil all finished with a goal apiece.

Johnny Astrologo led the team on defense with five takeaways and four ground balls.

(The GCC men's lacrosse team rushes the field to celebrate Jonathan Gill's game winning goal in the second overtime to life the Coguars over CCBC-Essex)

 

The Cougars improve to 9-1 on the season and will travel to Mercyhurst North East on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. start.

GCC men's lacrosse drops Niagara

By Andrew Crofts

Coming off of their first loss of the season to Onondaga Community College on Saturday, the #3 Genesee Community College men's lacrosse team wasted no time getting back in the win column, defeating Niagara County Community College on the road on Tuesday night, 27-1.

Genesee had control of the game from the start and Charlie Evans scored at the 11:51 mark of the first quarter. Six-seconds later, Jonathan Gill gave GCC a 2-0 lead with his first of six goals in the game. The Cougars led 6-0 after one.

Genesee scored six more times in the second quarter and sophomore Christian Reiller assisted on four of them. GCC led 12-0 at the half.

Stephen Turkasz kept things going in the second half for GCC with three third quarter goals and the Cougars had a 19-1 lead going into the fourth.

Chris Lommer made it 20-1 just eight-seconds into the fourth quarter and Josh Marr also added two goals in the final period to help GCC cruise to its eighth victory of the season.

Gill led 21 scorers for Genesee on the night and finished with six goals and one assist. Turkasz added five goals and two assists, Reiller finished with two goals and five assists, Steve Raimondi chipped in a goal and three assists, Luke Grahnert and Marcus Palvino each scored two goals and had an assist, Marr, Doug Ellsworth and Chris Rabung each scored two goals and Nick Gray added a goal and an assist.

Mike Breindel was 16 of 18 on face-offs and also had seven ground balls. Mike Tolli was 8 of 10 on face-offs and Bobby Wheeler and Johnny Astrologo led the defense with four takeaways each.

Genesee improves to 8-1 on the season and will host No. 2 Community College of Baltimore County-Essex on Friday night at 4 p.m.

Top-ranked Onondaga downs #3 Genesee in men's lacrosse

By Andrew Crofts

In a match-up between two of the top men's lacrosse programs in the NJCAA, Onondaga Community College proved why they are the number one team in the country on Saturday afternoon, defeating No. 3 Genesee Community College, 23-9.

A rematch of last year's NJCAA national semifinals, the Lazers wasted little time and scored only 23 seconds into the first quarter to grab a 1-0 lead. They upped their lead to 2-0 just two minutes later before Chris Rabung got Genesee on the board at the 3:55 mark. Onondaga then scored four straight goals before Christian Reiller scored his first of two goals in the game at the 12:16 mark to draw GCC to within four at 6-2. The Lazers responded and scored the final three goals of the quarter to take a 9-2 lead into the second.

Four more OCC goals to start the second quarter had Genesee trailing by 11 until Nick Gray scored a man-up goal to make it 13-3. Seth Oakes and Tim Barber scored for Onondaga at the 9:35 and 10:34 marks, respectively, but the Cougars scored the final two goals of the half when Pete DiLaura scored an unassisted goal and Blake Hurt took advantage of a two-man-up situation with a goal of his own. GCC trailed 15-5 at the half.

In the second half, Tyler Skowronski answered an early OCC goal with his first of two goals on the afternoon, but the Lazers offense was too much and never allowed Genesee to cut their lead into single digits. Skowronski scored his second goal following a Charlie Evans goal and Reiller added his second goal late in quarter, but OCC led 19-9 going into the fourth.

The Lazers scored the only four goals of the final period and with the win improve to 7-0 on the season.

Brady Lawrence made 15 saves in net for Genesee. DiLaura ended with a goal, an assist and five takeaways. Evans was 14 of 23 on face-offs and led the team with 14 ground balls.

Genesee is now 7-1 on the season and will travel to Niagara County Community College on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. start.

PHOTOS by Howard Owens. Top, Mike Chambers takes a shot late in the second quarter. Below, Nick Susko, Wayne Hill and Chambers.

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