Wahconah Boys Fall in Season Opener
EAST GREENBUSH, N.Y. – Michael Marchiony scored five goals Saturday to lead the Columbia boys lacrosse team to a 16-2 win over Wahconah.
Wahconah coach Matt Fisher knew what he was getting into going up against the New York Class B squad.
“I definitely brought them here, Game 1, to kind of get a baseline of where we’re at,” Fisher said. “We played a very good team over here in New York. We have a lot of respect for this team. I’ve known the coach for a very, very long time, and everything he does, I respect tremendously.
“It was a hard game. It was physical. We brought the physical. But we have a lot of work to do for Wednesday.”
This is the third straight year Wahconah has squared off against Columbia in the early going. Two years ago, Wahconah came away with a 10-9 win.
On Saturday, it again was a one-goal margin after Trevion Hawkins scored with 8 minutes, 14 seconds left in the first quarter to make it 2-1.
But it was all Columbia from there.
The Blue Devils won all 17 first-half faceoffs and took full advantage, rolling up a 14-1 lead at half-time.
Still, Wahconah’s defense forced a shot clock violation against Columbia on the possession after Hawkins’ goal and the visitors held the hosts to just one goal in a span of seven minutes to keep the score manageable at 3-1 late in the quarter.
But the Blue Devils scored with 1:11 left in the quarter and added three more straight from Brody DeLaMater in just 47 seconds – the last beating the buzzer to make it 7-1 going to the second.
Marchiony, who was a big factor on faceoffs for the Blue Devils, scored twice in a 7-0 second quarter to put the game away.
The second half was played with running time. After neither team managed a goal in the third quarter, Columbia beat Wahconah keeper Noah Levante (11 saves) twice to run its lead to 16-1 in the closing minutes.
With 2:30 left, Wahconah cashed in on a turnover in its offensive third when Kesler Anello set up Carter Bromback for the team’s second goal of the day.
Wahconah (0-1) is back on the road on Wednesday, heading to Monson, before its home opener on Friday against Mount Greylock.
Even after a rough day on the scoreboard, Fisher said the “ceiling is high” for his squad.
“We’re going to dissect the film tomorrow and do what we have to do to move on to Wednesday and get a win in Western Mass” he said.
“I think the culture on the team is great. They’re coachable kids. I think just give us a few more games, and I think we’ll be where we need to be to start winning some games here in the future.”
Photos from this game to come.