Yes, it was a brave effort, the Baldwinsville girls lacrosse team fighting back from three different deficits to even things up in Tuesday night’s Section III Class A final against West Genesee at Liverpool High School Stadium. But as head coach Doug Rowe put it, “we lost, it’s that simple.”
And the stark truth of that 11-10 defeat to the Wildcats, who won its fifth consecutive sectional championship, proved stinging for the Bees’ players, not to mention the large and loud contingent of B’ville fans that made it to Liverpool. High praise flowed from, among others, WG head coach Bob Elmer, who called B’ville “a great program with tough players.” Yet all that greatness and toughness could not help the Bees capture its first sectional title since 2000, as the Wildcats finally went ahead for good on Erica Geremia’s goal with 35.6 seconds left in regulation. At the heart of this tense, exciting contest was a problem that, said Rowe, had bugged the Bees all season – an inability to find the net with its shots. “All season long we’ve had trouble shooting the ball,” he said. “Against a team like (West Genesee) you can’t do that.” Indeed, B’ville controlled the ball throughout the game’s first five minutes, yet only got one goal, from Claire Monnat in the opening minute. Every other shot went wide or into the grasp of WG goalie Libby Byrne, who would make 12 saves. Given that early reprieve, the Wildcats stormed out in front late in the first half with five straight goals, capped by Katey Hart’s tally in the last minute that made it 6-2 going into the break. Well into the second half, the Bees still trailed, 7-3, but subtle adjustments in the lineup allowed the Bees to get more aggressive on both ends. Monnat, Erika Wilcox and Meghan Cuddy all scored in a row, and when Katie Sullivan converted with 9:15 left, it was a 7-7 tie. Once more, the Wildcats went out in front, as Geremia and Hart converted. Once more, B’ville would rally, Cuddy and Monnat finding the net again to make it 9-9 with five minutes left. Even after Hart hit on her third goal with 4:35 to play and WG tried to run out the remaining clock, the Bees forced a turnover. Cuddy streaked down the right side and, on the dead run, passed to Monnat, who beat Rachel Watkins with 1:27 left. Tied for a third time in this wild half at 10-10, the Bees saw WG’s Shannon Hawley win the ensuing draw. Patiently, the Wildcats worked the ball around until, on a trademark cut, Emily Tripodi, who had six assists on the night, found Geremia, whose high shot eluded B’ville goalie Laura Passamonte. There was time to get the ball back and force overtime, but Hart chased down the ensuing draw, and this time WG was able to run out the clock. Rowe praised his team’s effort. “The kids here gave them everything we could,” he said. But it was still a runner-up finish, B’ville having lost three times to WG this spring to account for most of the defeats in a 13-5 season. Now it will see Passamonte, Sullivan, Sam Yaro, Nicole Bourdon, Alexis Czyz, Amanda Ingersoll, Michaela Maselli and Erin Ward depart, but have the likes of Wilcox, Claire Monnat, Maggie Monnat, Taylor Pastore, Jessica Roberts and Andrea Moore back in 2012.