Sunday, May 7, 2017: Big day for state's top Class B lacrosse teams

   Leading off today: Class B was the center of the New York boys lacrosse world Saturday with several results that will have a major bearing on the next set of New York State Sportswriters Association ratings.

   The big news was Manhasset's 8-7 victory over Chaminade, the state's top-rated Class A team, on Steven Schneider's goal with 31 seconds to play. Kevin Mack drew an extra defender on his cut around the net, freeing Schneider, who took the feed and fired a high shot inside the far post.

   "I've been playing with him since sixth grade and he's been doing that ward move when he gets really low and comes to the goal," said Schneider, a North Carolina recruit. "He did all the work on that play."

   Trailing 7-5, Chaminade's Regan Quinn fed Aidan Byrnes for a goal and Sean Kuttin scored to tie with 2:25 left.

   Manhasset, which defeated fourth-ranked Garden City a week earlier, is ranked No. 2 in Class B.

   "It's a little sigh of relief right now because those two games on back-to-back (Saturdays) are pretty challenging," Schneider said. "We still have a ton of work to do and we're just blessed we can come up with these two huge wins."

    • Victor, the state's top-ranked B squad, took its first loss in Section 5 in nearly three full years. Tenth-ranked Canandaigua dropped the Blue Devils 8-5 as senior goalie Brandon Moore turned aside 15 shots.

   Victor led 3-1 at the half. A man-up goal by senior attackman Carson Greene (two goals, three assists) put Canandaigua ahead 4-3 midway through the third quarter.

   Victor forged a 5-5 tie in the fourth, but Greene scored with 7:14 to go, and junior midfielder Alex Burley made it 7-5 with 2:43 left.

   "It's May, this is when you want to be playing your best lacrosse," first-year Braves coach Deven York said. "In the beginning of this game, we were worried about matchups but we got away from that at halftime. We just said let's go with who is out there, force everyone to their weak hand, and it worked out for us."

    • In a rematch of the 2016 Long Island Class B final, Garden City rallied for a 12-11 win over Shoreham-Wading River, ranked third in Class C this spring.

    The Trojans outscored S-WR 6-1 in the third quarter to erase a 7-5 deficit. Seniors Finn Gibbons (three goals, two assists), J.P. Basile (two goals, three assists) and Jamie Atkinson (three goals) led Garden City. Gibbons scored twice in the third, while Basile had a goal and two of his assists in the quarter.

   "You're only going to go as far as your seniors take you," Trojans coach Steve Finnell said. "They did a great job today in a nice win over a great program."

    • Yorktown, ranked third in Class B, rolled to a 12-3 victory vs. Lakeland/Panas, the No. 13 team in Class A.

   The Huskers broke to a 6-0 lead through the end of the first quarter.

   Kyle Casey paced Yorktown with three goals and three assists.

   More boys lacrosse: Jamesville-DeWitt overcame an early two-goal deficit to defeat Fayetteville-Manlius 14-8 in action between Section 3 rivals.

   J-D is No. 2 in the state in Class C. F-M is No. 18 in Class A.

   Junior Griffin Cook and senior Ryan Archer each scored four goals and added two assists for the Red Rams, the 2016 state Class B champions.

   "I think we had five penalties and they scored five man-up goals," F-M coach Chris Kenneally said. "You can't make mistakes against a championship team and expect to survive."

   Girls lacrosse: West Genesee goalie Claudia Mocciaro made 11 saves as the No. 14 Wildcats downed No. 4 Syracuse CBA in Class A action between ranked teams.

   Mackenzie Baker scored late back-to-back goals as the Wildcats rallied to their fifth straight wins. Olivia Penoyer scored three goals for CBA. Her goal with 9:44 to go gave CBA its final lead at 5-4.

   It was CBA's first home loss since 2015, when it fell 11-10 in double overtime to West Genesee.

   Turning the leaderboard inside-out: Jyles Etienne pulled off a neat trick Saturday at the St. Anthony's Invitational, taking over the nation lead in the high jump -- the indoor high jump, that is.

   The high jump was moved indoors for the meet, and the Stony Brook senior cleared the bar at 7-2½ for an impressive win. The national leader through the end of the traditional indoor season was Nathan Patterson of Plymouth, Ind., with a mark of 7-1.

   The performance gives Etienne, who played basketball during the winter sports season, the Section 11 indoor record. Rival Daniel Claxton broke the 7-foot barrier by a quarter of an inch this season.

   Etienne had previously cleared 7-feet twice this outdoor season -- both times in the Bahamas in another quirk to be noted when the record books are updated.

    • Sachem East senior Lauren Harris set another national high school racewalk record at the St. Anthony's meet, going 6:22.96 over 1,500 meters.

   In January, Harris shattered the indoor 1,500 record by over 11 seconds when she went 6:17.59 at the Ocean Breeze Invitational.

   Softball: Word came early Sunday that Day 2 of the James "Ace" Morabito Memorial Invitational at the Mudville Complex in Herkimer had been canceled due to the weather, marking the first time since 2002 that no champion could be crowned.

   Defending champion North Rockland squeezed in wins over Mechanicville 9-1 and Archbishop Molloy 10-6 to highlight the rain-shortened Saturday schedule.

   Odd story of the week: The Park School plans to begin improvements to its soccer field after Daemen College raised money to pay for the work in exchange for a long-term agreement to continue using the field.

   The Buffalo News reported last week that the field in the Town of Snyder had been 10 feet lower at the north end than at the south end, helping to explain why 75 percent of the scoring in Daemen's games last fall came at one end of the field.

   For the team attacking the downhill goal, Daemen AD Bridget Niland said, "It's like running with the wind behind you, as a sprinter."

   Upgrades to the field will include leveling and widening the playing surface, improving the drainage and laying down new turf. The college had previously invested in a scoreboard and other amenities at Karrer Field.