During Friday’s practice, Fayetteville-Manlius head coach Doug Madden told his team that it has the opportunity to bounce back from tough early-season losses over the next few weeks.
He said that it was going to have to begin the recovery from that slow start immediately, and his team responded by coming out with intensity on Saturday, when a strong first half opened the door and pushed it to a huge 9-6 win over Christian Brothers Academy.
At intermission, the Hornets (3-5, 1-4) led CBA, 5-1, and the home crowd was flying high and waiting to see that motivated defense hit the repeat button in the second half, but time showed that CBA solved F-M’s puzzle a bit, as it scored five goals after halftime. But the Hornet offense found a way to put this one just out of reach for the Brothers.
The Hornets scored four goals in the second half, and weathered the storm that CBA (6-3, 4-0) had sprung upon them, whether it was through focusing on the defensive end or finding the goal-scorers who have guided them in the past.
It started with Chris Lubrino and Nick Papa, who both have produced for the Hornets throughout this year. Between the two of them, they had seven goals — Papa had four and Lubrino had three — to lead the team to the win.
F-M has a home game against Westhill on Monday, which is a makeup from when they were snowed out on April 5, and then play Liverpool on Tuesday night. CBA hosts Homer on Tuesday.
