Jeff Colburn ('05) was a member of the Upstate All-Stars that played Team USA in an exhibition game July 3rd at Coyne Stadium as the team gets ready for the World Games in London, Ontario beginning July 13th. Below, Jeff spins by Hall-of-Famer Pat McCabe before firing a shot past Trevor Tierney for the Upstater's fourth goal of the game. Jeff is an attackman for Hobart.

Congratulations begin with Coach Chuck Wilbur ('95) and his OCC Lazers, including Ryan Boda ('05), for their NJCAA National Championship after an undefeated season.

Congratulations also to Dan Schmitt ('02), Pat Praino ('04), and Justin Ianzito ('05) as their Cortland St. Red Dragons ended Salisbury's 69-game winning streak to capture the NCAA D-III National Championship, 13-12 in OT!

The Northstars season came to an end Wednesday night as their comeback attempt fell one goal short against the West Genesee Wildcats in one Sectional semifinal held at Bragman Stadium. After falling behind 5-1, the 'Stars held the Wildcats scoreless in the third period, climbing back to within two at 5-3. West Genny then went up 6-3 on a goal by Luke Cometti with under eight minutes to play, but the Northstars quickly got that one back, and Nick Lococo brought them to within one goal with just over a minute left.

P-S story     Photos

The Northstars finished the regular season with a 14-3 record, and claimed the Onondaga National League Title. Nick Lococo (A), Nick Blumer (M), and Nick DellaPelle (D) have been named to the Onondaga League First-Team, and Jeff Gilbert (M) and Jamie Praino (G) were named to the Second-Team. And honors for the coaches, too, as Coach Aldrich was named Onondaga National League Coach of the Year, and Coach Feeney was named Assistant Coach of the Year.

The #2 Northstars ended #7 Henninger's season Friday, 15-7, and have advanced to play #3 West Genesee in one Section 3 semifinal Wednesday night at 5PM at Bragman Stadium.

The Northstars have been seeded #2 for the 2006 Section 3 Tournament, and will host #7 Henninger at 7PM Friday.

We will be finalizing booster club activities for this year at the next meeting, Wednesday May 24th, at 7pm in the High School Cafeteria. We also need to start looking for officers for next year. Please consider helping to make our lacrosse program even stronger!

Also, we've gotten some volunteers for the concession stand for the upcoming Section and State playoff games. Thank you!  HOWEVER, we still need the following:

May 30th: 7pm-10pm we need 9 more volunteers

May 31st: 4pm-7pm we need 8 more volunteers, 7pm-10pm we need 5 more volunteers

June 3rd: 2pm-5pm we need 5 more volunteers, 5pm-8pm we need 3 more volunteers, 8pm-10pm we need 8 more volunteers

June 8th: 2:30pm-5pm we need 7 more volunteers, 5pm-8pm need 7 more volunteers, 8pm-10:30pm we need 9 more volunteers

Defender Chris Gignilliat, a 2005 graduate of CNS, was named to the All-America East Conference Second Team, and to its All-Rookie Team.

Jamie Praino had 15 saves in Thursday night's victory over Baldwinsville, giving the Northstars a final 14-3 regular-season record and first place in the Division 1 National League. Nick Lococo had 4 points (2-2), while Nick Blumer had 3 goals and Jim Haney added 2. Mike Brodhead netted 1 and Jeff Gilbert assisted on 3.

Once again Bragman Stadium at CNS will be hosting the Section 3 boy's lacrosse playoffs, as well as some NYS Tournament games.

Section 3 Class B semifinal games will be Tuesday May 30th at 5pm and 7:30pm.
Class A semifinal games will follow on Wednesday May 31st at 5pm and 7:30pm.
Class A, B, and C Title games will be held Saturday June 3rd 3pm,5pm and 7:30pm.
On Thursday June 8th, CNS will host the Upstate boys finals (NYS semifinals) at 3:30pm,5:30pm and 8pm.

We need to staff the concession stand with 10 volunteers for EACH of the games. Volunteering for the concession stand is a great way to meet other CNS parents and help out the CNS lacrosse program through the work of the Booster Club. By working together, we can guarantee a great lacrosse experience for all the fans who come to the games. It really is more fun than it is work! Please contact your team representative, or sign up at one of your child's games.

At Liverpool Tuesday, the Northstars took the lead in the second quarter, outscored the Warriors 6-0 in the third, and came away with a convincing 15-9 win, bringing their season record to 13-3. Eight different players scored, led by Nick Lococo's 6 goals and 3 assists. Nick now has 96 points on the season. Jim Haney added 3 goals and 1 assist, while Nick Blumer scored a goal and assisted 2. Jeff Gilbert, Steven Ianzito, Andy Neider, Mike Sciarrino, and Mike Stagnitta each had goals. Mike Brodhead and Dustin Jacobson each had 1 assist. And goalie Jamie Praino entered the scoring column with an assist.

Box score

CNS went up to start as Jeff Gilbert beat his man early on a clear, drew Nick Lococo’s man on the slide and made a nice feed for the Lococo finish. These two would hook up 3 more times in the game, but for now CNS held the early advantage, 1-0. A few minutes later, Adam Drypolcher was left alone, got the pass and fired at close range for the 1-1 tie. CNS went man down but Jamie Praino made a beautiful save in close but when the ball wasn’t controlled, FM alertly picked up the loose ball and fired it home. FM would score 2 more man-up goals in succession and another even-up before CNS would put up another. Trailing 5-1, Lococo made an interior feed that looked like it went in off an FM stick so it is unclear how to score that one, but it did count as a goal so CNS finished the 1st quarter down 5-2.

The 2nd quarter scoring started with a Mike Brodhead to Nick Blumer connection on a man-up play and CNS was back in it 5-3 but an FM middie beat us up top for an unassisted goal to extend back to a 3 goal margin. The Gilbert-Lococo connection picked up again when Gilbert fired a bullet to Lococo on a skip pass in the 3-3 and Nick buried the shot…..back to within 2! But it was all FM to finish the half with 3 consecutive goals and a 9-4 lead.

The 3rd period was a defensive struggle with only 3 goals total. Lococo returned the earlier favors to Gilbert to close to 9-5 but again FM finished the scoring for the quarter with two of their own for a 11-5 lead.

CNS got on the board first in the 4th, as they did in each of the 3 earlier quarters when Lococo fed Brodhead…..score 11-6. Drypolcher scored again to double up CNS 12-6 and notched two more to add insult to injury with a 14-6 lead. CNS would not quit however and found the net 4 times to close out the game. Mike Stagnitta drove the cage from behind and squeezed one in, Blumer found Lococo on a man-up play, Blumer got one unassisted after a clearing pass and Lococo fed Gilbert for the final tally and the 14-10 margin.

CNS now sits at 9-3 (all 3 losses on grass BTW) with the giant killers, the Cocoran Cougars, coming to Bragman stadium on Friday night for Teacher Appreciation Night. Let’s hope we can treat them to a CNS return to the win column!

Auburn jumped to a 2-0 lead just 2:26 into the game, but CNS tied it at 2 with unassisted goals by Nick Lococo (3:41) and Nick Blumer (2:25) to end the 1st quarter. The 2nd quarter saw Auburn double up CNS. At 10:12, Lococo fed Mike Brodhead for a 3-3 tie, but Auburn would score 4 straight to lead 7-3. The bleeding stopped for a moment when Jeff Gilbert fed Jim Haney at 3:11 on a fast break, but Auburn grabbed that goal right back to close the half with an 8-4 advantage.

The 3rd quarter started with promise when, at 8:02, Gilbert fed Haney again to narrow the score to 8-5. Auburn then dominated the face-offs and the ball to score 5 straight, going up 13-5. Blumer would notch an unassisted goal with just 7.5 seconds to go to finish the 3rd period at 13-6.

CNS had a lot of catching up to do and with Matt Didone having some success at the face-off X, they went to work. The comeback started at 8:22 of the 4th when Mike Sciarrino fed Blumer for a goal. At 6:09, Gilbert fed Brodhead to narrow the margin to 13-8. CNS could have given up when, at 4:51, Auburn scored again but they kept fighting and just 17 seconds later Gilbert fed Blumer for a quick score, and at 2:53 Lococo jumped the goalie on a clear, dislodged and controlled the ball, and fed Blumer for the score. With 1:44 in the 4th, Gilbert would control a ground ball on a clear and feed Mike Sciarrino for a 14-11 score. Auburn finished a fast break goal at 51 seconds to go in the 4th for the final 15-11 score.

Scoring summery: Blumer 5-0; Brodhead 2-0, Gilbert 0-5, Haney 2-0, Lococo 1-2,
Sciarrino 1-1 - Praino 6 saves

At 10:34 of the 1st quarter, Oswego notched the 1st goal of the game for their only lead of the night. At 7:36 of the 1st, Jeff Gilbert fed Mike Brodhead for the equalizer and Nick Lococo gave CNS the lead at 2-1, unassisted at 6:46 of the first. Oswego knotted the score at 2-2 with just 40 seconds to play in the first. The second quarter was all about good defense and stellar goalie play as the only score of the quarter for either team was by Jim Haney at 10:33 off a feed from Nick Lococo.

CNS came out fired up to start the 3rd quarter and finally seemed to have solved the Oswego goalie. At 11:24, Gilbert fed Nick Blumer for the two goal lead, followed at 10:40 with a Mike Sciarrino goal off the favor from Nick Lococo. At 8:33, Brodhead scored his second unassisted on a double move from goal line extended. Brodhead quickly notched his hat trick on another Lococo feed just 27 seconds later for a 7-2 lead. Oswego would spoil the fun with their lone goal of the 3rd at 1:32 to close the scoring for the quarter.

The 4th started out like the 3rd, with several quick CNS goals. At 10:47, Sciarrino fed Gilbert for the tally, and 13 seconds later Adam Neider had a nice pass to Lococo for the 9-3 lead. Blumer got the ball to Gilbert for a score at 7:55 of the 4th for the 10-3 lead. Oswego would notch their last goal at 4:24 and the Northstars would ring the bell twice with Stephen Ianzito earning a goal at 3:40, assisted by Lococo, and Aric Myers putting a bullet by the Oswego keeper with 59 seconds to play.

It is hard to describe the quality play of both goalies in this game but suffice it to say it was extraordinary! The CNS defense played inspired and Matt Didone was great, just loving the home cookin’ at the face-off X. Great job Northstars!

It was a cold and rainy afternoon in Geneva, as the CNS Varsity lax team prepared to do battle with the Geneva Panthers from Section V. The rain was only threatening when Jimmy Haney cashed in on a Nick Lococo assist only 27 seconds into the game and you had to wonder if the scoring binge from Tuesday night would continue. That wasn't to be as the Panthers scored two straight goals and the Northstars didn't score again until 1:47 remaining in the 1st period when Mike Sciarrino buried another of Lococo's assists to tie the game at 2-2. Geneva took a 1 goal lead with only 15 seconds to go in the 1st, but a Nick Blumer feed to Nick Lococo answered that with only 1 second to show on the clock.

The 2nd period started out the same way...neck and neck. Lococo fed Blumer for a 4-3 lead at 10:35, but the Panthers answered back 35 seconds later. Jeff Gilbert fed Blumer on a man-up opportunity at 7:56 for a 5-4 lead but again the Panthers came back for the tie 21 seconds later and took a one goal lead of their own with a man-up goal with 5:54 on the clock. Mike Brodhead put home a rebound of a Gilbert shot at 5:02 to knot the score at 6-6, the first of 5 consecutive goals for the Northstars. At 3:45 Gilbert again fed Blumer in their 3-3 man-up offense for a one goal lead. Blumer finished unassisted at 3:06 for a two goal lead and Gilbert fed Blumer again on man-up as the Northstars took a 9-6 lead into halftime.

The sprinkles of the 1st half turned into a steady rain during halftime. From the start of the second half, the Northstars found it difficult to score goals. At 8:10 of the 3rd period, Gilbert finished a Brodhead feed to go up by four. CNS would not score again until 7:27 remained in the 4th but by then Geneva had narrowed the gap to 11-9. Lococo fed Brodhead for the tally. Geneva finished the half strong and tied the game up at 11. OT has been a common companion of the lacrosse team of late and today was to be no exception.

Geneva took the first possession in OT and soon took a shot that they believed to have scored on. Their bench jumped in jubilation and the players on the field started to celebrate as well but keeper Jamie Praino knew better and kept up his search for the ball. It appeared that Praino had the ball trapped in his uniform and when it fell out and he controlled it, the refs signaled no goal. The clearing attempt brought the fans to their feet as Gilbert raced across midfield on the break and fed Haney at the goal line only to have the Geneva keeper make a desperation save to keep the Panthers alive. Several more attempts by each team kept everyone's nerves on end until mercifully at 1:01 of the first OT, Lococo beat his man one-on-one to take CNS's 3rd OT victory in the last 4 games.

Box score    

Scoring summery: Blumer 5G, 1A ; Brodhead 2G, 1A ; Gilbert 1G, 3A ; Haney 1G; Lococo 2G, 4A ;Sciarrino 1G ; Praino 13 Saves

The Northstars host Oswego Tuesday at 7PM.

Above, Mike Brodhead fires one of his game-high 6 goals past two 'Square defenders Tuesday night as Nick Lococo and Nick Blumer look on. Mike also added 2 assists as the Northstars fought off the Red Hawks 21-17 at Bragman Stadium, winning their seventh game and extending their winning streak to 6 games. Many of Brodhead's goals came on assists by Lococo, who had an Onondaga-best 10 to go with his own 5 goals. Nick Blumer had 4 goals along with 1 assist. Jim Haney had 2 goals and an assist, Jeff Gilbert went 1-1, and Mike Sciarrino, Mike Stagnitta, and Aric Myers added goals. Alan Vedder assisted on a goal.

Jamie Praino gathered in 11 saves while facing a Red Hawks' barrage of their own with three players scoring at least 4 goals, led by Ian Murphy's 5 goals and 4 assists.

Box score     Photos

The Northstars visit Section 5's Geneva Panthers(3-3) Saturday for an 11AM contest. The Northstars hosted Geneva last season, winning 17-5, but the Panthers recently held Section 5 power Canandaigua to 5 goals.

Geneva's 2006 results

Juniors Jeff Gilbert (5-1), Nick Blumer (4-2), and Nick Lococo (3-6) combined for 12 goals and 9 assists as the Northstars defeated visiting Horseheads (Section 4) 17-5 Saturday. Mike Brodhead had 2 goals and an assist, while Aric Myers, Adam Neider, and Joe Vivino each added goals. Jim Haney and Steven Ianzito had assists.

In goal, Jamie Praino recorded 8 saves, Nick Acquaviva had 4, and Devin Heldt added 1.

It's back to Section 3 action Tuesday night as Central Square makes the short trip south to Cicero. Game time is 7PM.

Nick Lococo picked up an erreant Henninger clearing pass and scored as the Northstars grabbed their second consecutive overtime win, edging the Black Knights of Henninger 6-5. Lococo scored 3 goals and had 2 assists to lead the Northstars. Jeff Gilbert added a goal and two assists, and Nick Blumer and Mike Sciarrino each had goals. Between the pipes, Jamie Praino had 15 saves.

Section 4's Horseheads visits Bragman Stadium Saturday at 1PM.

In the NYS Sportswriters Poll for April 13, CNS is ranked #7 in Class "A".

Down 11-6 heading into the fourth quarter at home, the Northstars scored 5 unanswered goals, forcing the game into overtime, where Nick Blumer scored the game-winner, his fifth goal of the game.

Nick Lococo scored 3 goals and had 2 assists to go with Blumer's 5 goals. Mike Brodhead added 3 goals, and Mike Sciarrino had a goal and an assist. Nick DellaPella, Jeff Gilbert, and Steven Ianzito each had assists. Jamie Praino had 13 saves in goal.

The Northstars continue their spring-break series with a trip to Henninger on Thursday for a 1PM game.

Nick Blumer led the charge with 4 goals and 2 assists as eleven Northstars scored in Saturday's game against visiting s. Colonie from Section 2. Jeff Gilbert also had 6 points (2-4), while Nick Lococo had 1 goal and 4 assists. Goalies Nick Acquaviva, Devin Heldt, and Jamie Praino combine for 6 saves. Look for photos and stats updates Sunday evening.

Box score     Photos

Next up: Liverpool invades Bragman Stadium Tuesday at 1pm.

Down 6-5 after 3 periods, the Northstars scored 4 fourth quarter goals to defeat the Corcoran Cougars 9-7 Tuesday night and extend their record to 2-1. Mike Sciarrino led the Northstar scoring attack with 3 goals and 2 assists. Nick Blumer added 3 goals of his own, and Nick Lococo had 1 goal and 2 assists. Mike Brodhead and Mike Stagnitta each added goals.

The defense held Corcoran's Kevin Curtain and Ray Ryan to a combined 3 goals, and Northstar goalie Jamie Praino came away with 7 saves.

Box score

The Northstars host the Colonie Garnet Raiders from Section 2 on Staurday, April 8th, for a 5PM game.

The CNS JV's played at West Genesee Friday. Click on the link below to see some photos of that game.

JV Photos    

A large crowd, warm weather, and the anticipation of a close game made for a great lacrosse night Friday, at least until the fourth quarter. The Northstars led West Genesee 3-2 in the third period, but four straight goals by the Wildcats helped them pull away in the fourth, and eventually defeat the Northstars 8-4.

Jamie Praino had another great game in goal, making 18 saves. Nick Lococo led the Northstars with a goal and an assist. Nick Blumer, Jeff Gilbert, and Mike Sciarrino each added goals, and Mike Brodhead and Dustin Jacobson each had assists.

This was a non-league game. The Wildcats visit Bragman Stadium May 11th for a Colonial National Division game.

Post-Standard story     Box score

The Northstars travel to Corcoran Tuesday night, April 4th, for a 6PM game.

A great team effort, evidenced by seven players scoring and nine assists on 11 goals, allowed the Northstars to recover from a scoreless first period to lead 8-2 after the third and go on to defeat the visiting Section 5 Pittsford Panthers 11-5 Wednesday night. Jeff Gilbert dished out 5 assists, while Nick Lococo added 3 to go with his one goal. Mike Brodhead scored 3 goals and Nick Blumer and Mike Sciarrino each added 2. Matt DiDone, Jim Haney, and Aric Meyers rounded out the goal-scoring with one each, and Steven Ianzito added an assist. Jamie Praino had an outstanding game between the pipes, finishing the game with 15 saves.

Tonight the Northstars travel to West Genesee for a rematch of the 2005 Section 3 Class A title game with the Wildcats, ranked #1 in the nation. Game time is 7PM, and the forecast looks great!

The 2006 Varsity roster and schedule can be found by clicking on the appropriate links above. The 2006 JV schedule can be found by clicking the JV page link on the left. The Freshmen team info will be posted as soon as they are available.

CNS grad Jeff Santucci scored the game-winning goal 42 seconds into overtime as the Binghamton Bearcats defeated Villanova 7-6. Binghamton hosts Hobart on Tuesday at the East Middle School Stadium . . . (press release)

Adam Hughes, CNS Class of '01 and an '05 graduate of Cortland St., was taken in the sixth round of the recent NLL Entry Draft by the Colorado Mammoth. The Mammoth named Gary Gait as head coach after his recent retirement as a player for the team.