Cortland Standard .net

By TOM VARTANIAN
Staff Writer
Led by seniors Anthony Basile and Dean Riley, Homer Central boys had a very successful debut at chilly, wet George Butts Field Thursday night.
Basile scored five goals and dished out two assists while Riley netted four goal and added one assist as the Trojans rolled to a 16-3 OSHL Freedom Division lacrosse win over Fulton. It was the season opener for both teams.
“It was a good start for us,” Homer coach Tom Cottrell said. “We could have done a little better because we missed a lot of opportunities in the first half, but we held Fulton to one goal through the first three periods.
We did get to running time in the second half,” he added. “We really pulled most of the starters by the end of the third period and rotated the rest of the guys. Nearly everyone got to play and everybody contributed.”
The lone exception for eligible players was senior back-up goalkeeper Zach Sovocool, who Cottrell left on the sidelines,
“Zach was really cold and I didn’t think putting him out there in the fourth quarter was the best way for him to get his first action,” Cottrell explained.
Junior netminder Mark Suits made his varsity debut and played well. Suits made six saves and the final two Fulton goals came in the final 45 seconds when the outcome had long been decided.
Basile got Homer started just minute into the match with a rocket that eluded Fulton goalkeeper Brandon Batstone (11 saves). Riley picked up the assist on the goal. With 8:12 left in the first quarter, the roles reversed with Riley scoring and Basile assisting. Danny Turck notched an unassisted goal with 3:13 left in the quarter for a 3-0 Trojans advantage.
The Trojans made it 4-0 to open the second quarter when Basile found a hole and collected his second goal of the game.
Spencer Vono got the first Red Raider goal with 6:29 left in the first half.
Junior midfielder Jerrad Reiner netted his first varsity goal with 5:26 left in the first half. Turck posted his second goal with 15 second left in the half and Homer took a 6-1 lead into the locker room.
Homer blew the game open in the third quarter with nine goals to take a 15-1 lead. Basile scored at the 11:24, 9:45 and 2:34 marks. Riley netted three man-up goals at 10:20, 5:38 and 54 seconds. Basile assisted on the second goal and Brad Sovocool the the final goal of the quarter. Reiner collected his second goal with 9:02 left in the quarter. Alec Bush scored with 11:13 left in the third quarter and Matt Suits found the net with 4:39 left in the quarter.
Tyler Ponticello notched his first varsity when the junior midfielder beat Fulton back-up goalkeeper Ben Hughes (four saves) with 5:26 to play. Bailey Wood assisted on Ponticello’s tally.
Bryce Knight snapped the Trojans’ 12-0 run with 45 seconds remaining in the match. R.J. Borrow gave the Red Raiders one more shining moment with two seconds left off an assist from Austin Wilde.
Homer dominated the match statistically as well with a 41-15 shot advantage, 37-18 edge in gorundballs and won the face-off battle 17-6. Junior midfielder Ryan Gabriel won 14 of his 18 face-off opportunities while Ponticello claimed three of his five face-off battles. The Trojans were three-for-four on man-up chances while Fulton did not convert either of its two extra-man opportunities.
“Mark did a great job in goal,” Cottrell said. “He wasn’t tested often, but responded well when challenged. He cleared the ball well. Ryan and Tyler were both good in winning face-offs.”
Homer will return to Freedom Division action Tuesday. The Trojans will host East Syracuse-MInoa at 7 p.m. The JV contest will begin at 5 p.m. on Butts Field.
HOMER JVs successfully opened their season with a 19-2 rout of Fulton.
The Trojans jumped to a 9-1 lead in the first quarter and pushed their advantage to 14-1 by halftime.
“It was nice to open with a win and our strong play in the first half allowed everyone to see action,” Homer coach Nick Patriarco said. “We had ten different guys score and almost half of our goals were assisted. We still have a lot of work to do as our competition will quickly improve, but I’m excited about the potential that this team has.”
Tucker O’Donnell led the Homer attack with four goals and two assists. Jake Riley (two assists) and Ethan Stiles each netted three goals while Max Riley (one assist) and Dante Yacavone collected two goals each. Other Trojan goal scorers were Vinny Basile (two assists), Lars Roos (one assist), Stephan Walter, Matthew Pelowski and Justin Wainwright with Zach Barber dishing out one assist.
Luke Thomas and Rich Newsome were the Fulton goal scorers.
Mike Turck made eight saves for Homer. Tim O’Connor stopped seven shots for Fulton.