Lady Dutch 5-0, still learning

PHOTOGRAPHER: Jim Schiltz

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Guilderland’s young girls’ lacrosse team remained unbeaten Tuesday with an uneven performance.

Erin Mossop scored four goals, and Mackenzie Cietek tallied with one second left in a dominant first half which the Lady Dutch rode to a 13-7 Suburban Council victory at Saratoga Springs.

“We did a lot of good things, but when you have two seniors and you’re young like we are, you make some mistakes,” Guilderland coach Gary Chatnik said. “Eventually, we’re going to put it all together. They’ll get it.”

The four-time defending Section II Class A champions (4-0 league, 5-0 overall) were at their best in a span of just over 10 minutes to close the opening half, using a 7-1 run to open up a 10-3 advantage. Mossop, Shelby Iapoce and Kendall Cietek notched two goals apiece during the spree before Mackenzie Cietek capped the uprising on a free-position drive.

The spree included goals 25, 31 and 32 seconds apart.

“In those 10 minutes, we played to our ability. We possessed the ball and moved the ball. We started attacking. We played on, and good things happened,” said Chatnik, before adding, “They got the lead and then they got complacent. Saratoga is a good team. You can’t fool around.”

Goals by Caroline Crandall and Isabella Wager pulled Saratoga (1-3, 2-4) within 10-5 in the second half before Morgan Hardt finally got Guilderland on the board again with 8:26 left.

“We won the second half, and it’s not because Guilderland had their bench players in there,” said Saratoga coach Sue Hoffman.

The Blue Streaks were more aggressive in the second half at both ends, and won the ground- ball battle while Stephanie Luce made six of her 11 saves during the 25-minute stretch.

“In their 10-minute run, we were a little hesitant because two [yellow] cards had been delivered,” Hoffman said. “We also got a little scrambled in the draw circle, and there was a little hanging of the heads. We pulled the puppet string back up and played a better second half.”

“Saratoga played hard in that second half,” said Chatnik. “They got ground balls. They made plays. They made the extra pass. We didn’t.”

Saratoga displayed great determination throughout the second half, when Hardt scored twice, and Julia Sirianni fired in her second goal of the game with nine seconds left.

“If you let teams hang around, they’ll push you, and maybe come out on the top end,” said Chatnik. “My girls have got to grow through this. They’ve got to learn what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable.”

With six sophomores and two freshmen on its roster, Guilderland opened its season with wins over Bethlehem (17-3), Fayetteville-Manlius (18-14), Columbia (17-0) and Colonie (14-8). The Lady Dutch host Shaker Thursday in a rematch of last year’s Class A sectional final before playing at Garden City Saturday. Garden City is the five-time defending state Class B champion.

“We’re happy to be 5-0. We’ve played some good teams already and did enough good things,” said Chatnik. “Each game, we’re learning stuff and we’re getting better. Eventually, this can be a very good team.”

Mossop, a senior attacker, scored five goals and added an assist to pace a Guilderland team that is ranked No. 7 on LaxPower’s state Class A poll. Wager had three goals for Saratoga, and fellow junior Emma Kern had three assists.

Mossop scored consecutive goals to give Guilderland a 3-1 lead before Wager answered for the Blue Streaks. Iapoce then sandwiched goals around two by Mossop before Kendall Cietek scored twice in a

32-second span to make it 9-2.

Brianna Sirianni scored with 23 seconds left and Mackenzie Cietek closed the first-half scoring.

“With this team, you can’t key on one person,” said Chatnik. “We have several kids who can score, but you’ve got to go aggressively to the goal, and you’ve got to find corners. We did that during our big run.”

Guilderland graduated 11 seniors, including nine starters, from last year’s 17-2 team.

Guilderland 10 3 — 13

Saratoga 3 4 — 7

Guilderland scoring: Kelsey Michele

0-1, Erin Mossop 5-1, Ali Cardinal 0-1, Shelby Iapoce 2-0, Kendall Cietek 2-0, Nicole Levine 0-1, Mackenzie Cietek 1-1, Morgan Hardt

2-0, Kara Carman 0-1. Saratoga scoring:

Julia Sirianni 2-0, Isabella Wager 3-0, Emma Kern 0-3, Brianna Sirianni 1-0, Caroline Crandall 1-0.

Goaltenders: Guilderland, Jess Madsen, 9 saves. Saratoga, Lauren Huck, 2 saves; Stephanie Luce, 11 saves.