When people say that patience pays off, it might be a cliche, but only because it comes true. At the very least, the Liverpool boys lacrosse team could vouch for it. From using a zone to finding a zone, the Warriors maintained its patience and focus throughout a cold, blustery Thursday afternoon to earn a 5-4 victory over previously unbeaten Fayetteville-Manlius to improve its record to 6-1. At one point early in the fourth quarter, Liverpool trailed F-M, the state’s no. 7-ranked Class A team, by a 4-2 margin. But it used goals by Kyle DeAngelis and Joe Corapi to pull even at 4-4, then took the lead when DeAngelis charged in from the right side and beat Hornets goalie Stefan Basile with 1:37 to play. Still, the game wasn’t sealed until Dominick Madonna, the Warriors’ sophomore goalie, stopped Ari Waffle’s shot as time expired. It was the only shot F-M could get off in a possession that covered the last minute of regulation – and symbolized Liverpool’s entire approach to the game. Having used a man-to-man defense in a 13-9 win over Baldwinsville two days earlier, Warriors first-year head coach Mike Felice reverted to a zone for F-M, just as he had done April 7 against West Genesee. Eventually the Wildcats solved the zone and handed Liverpool its only loss of the season, 17-6, but the Hornets never caught on. Typically, six players would surround Madonna, including defenders Bryan Capone, Luigi Barletta and Mike Czachowski, and pack in tight. This forced the Hornets outside, and while it could pass the ball around at will, it rarely could find an open look anywhere near the net. So long minutes would pass and, despite controlling the ball, F-M was unable to convert. This allowed Liverpool to lead deep into the first half, as goals by Caropi and Matt Savlov put the hosts up 2-1 before Derek Andrake’s bouncing shot found the net 3.5 seconds before halftime to tie it 2-2. Knowing that the zone was working, Liverpool stayed with it in the second half, even after a 67-second burst late in the third quarter where Andrake and Dan Cahill hit on back-to-back goals, giving F-M a 4-2 lead. Frustrated, the Hornets tried to force matters, leading to turnovers throughout the game. And those mistakes would particularly hurt in the final period as the Warriors minimized its own mistakes that allowed the Hornets to possess the ball much of the way. Liverpool got more aggressive in the fourth quarter, producing those two goals that squared things up – and led to a happy conclusion, too, as Madonna’s 10th save won it. A few hours later, on that same turf, the Liverpool girls lacrosse team improved to 7-1 when it played Fayetteville-Manlius and topped the Hornets 10-8. The two sides played through a 5-5 first half. After the break, the Warriors remained consistent and persistent, moving out in front and withstanding all of F-M’s attempts to pull back even. With the Hornets focusing its defense on Nina Tassone (holding her to one assist), Mary Fadden flourished with a three-goal hat trick as Anna Daucher and Andrea Flood both found the net twice. Kristina Lombard had one goal and one assist, with Morgan Kline and Mallorie O’Brien also getting goals. Lindsey Trachtenberg led F-M with three goals as Steph Rutkowski had 14 saves, five more than Tess Tracy.