Lexie Ball did her thing, then it was Nicole Beardsley’s turn.
Beardsley used two spin moves to break free and scored in the third overtime as Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake edged Niskayuna, 9-8, in the Section II Class B championship game Wednesday night at the University at Albany.
Ball made a save near the end of regulation and had two key stops in the second overtime before Beardsley ended the longest title game in the history of the girls’ lacrosse tournament in the next one.
“I can see the whole field,” said Ball, a sophomore goalie who finished with 11 saves. “I saw the open net. I saw the moves. I knew she was going to get it in.”
Beardsley and teammate Aubrey Kamppila were the last players to dent the scoreboard in regulation. The teams remained tied through five three-minute sessions leading up to Beardsley’s second goal in the sixth. The clutch goal gave BH-BL (No. 3 seed, 12-5) its third area flag in four years.
“I don’t remember much of it,” said Beardley, a Northwestern-bound attacker. “You have to have confidence in yourself and go.”
The teams went 15:49 of overtime play, and Beardsley ended the marathon on right-to-left run in from a dead-ball situation and a shoulder-high shot from just outside the circle.
“She waited. Hesitated and let her [Niskayuna goalkeeper Asa Goldstock] come out, and put it by her,” said BH-BL coach Jake McHerron. “You need your Division I kids to step up in big games.”
Niskayuna (No. 1, 12-4-1) had beaten Burnt Hills twice in the Suburban Council season, and held an 8-6 lead in the third go-round after Ellia Petraccione’s goal with 7:23 left.
“Niskayuna is a wonderful program,” said Beardsley. “It’s always a dog fight with them. We were fortunate to come out on top this time.”
Niskayuna had late shots sail over the cage in the third and fourth OT sessions. Ball made a save in the fourth session and another in the fifth, just after a Niskayuna attept nailed the pipe.
“Marissa DiVietro picked up every ground ball in the last 20 minutes,” said Niskayuna coach Jason Bach, after the Silver Warriors were denied their sixth area title “She kept getting the ball. We couldn’t put it away.”
One of Ball’s biggest saves came with 1:20 left in regulation and the contest even at 8-8, when she steered aside a free-position attempt by Alissa Franze, a sophomore who earlier collected four goals.
“She’s a D-I quality goalie. She’s been here before. She came up huge when we needed her,” said McHerron. “Credit to her for battling all the way through.”
Goldstock made 14 saves, several of them spectacular.
CLASS A
Julia Lennon hit the upper right corner with 50.7 seconds left to send Shaker past Guilderland, 8-7, in a Class A final.
Lennon’s last goal capped a comeback for the Blue Bison (No. 1, 16-1), who trailed, 3-0, and 4-2, before rallying.
Shannon Mackesey gave Guilderland (No. 2, 14-5) a 7-6 lead with her second goal at the 11:44 mark. Lennon scored with 8:10 left to tie it, and her next tally decided another title game. As a sophomore, Lennon notched the last goal in Shaker’s 9-8 win over the Lady Dutch.
Lennon also scored the tying and winning goals when Shaker beat Guilderland in league play this season, 12-11, in overtime.
Morgan Hardt scored a pair of goals for Guilderland, which was a .500 team eight games into the season, but used a supberb run to reach its eighth straight large-school title game.
CLASS C
Emily Martin sparked a big first half with four goals and an assist, and Albany Academy rolled to its seventh straight Class C title with a 15-3 victory over Emma Willard.
CLASS A
SHAKER 8, GUILDERLAND 7
Guilderland 4 3 — 7
Shaker 3 5 — 8
Guilderland scoring: Katie Becker 1-0, Shannon Mackesey 2-0, Cara Quimby 1-1, Michaela Jones 0-1, Morgan Hardt 2-0, Rebecca Golderman 1-0. Shaker scoring: Julia Lennon 4-0, Kailey Dodd 0-1, Kailyn Hart 1-0, Maeve Lennon 1-1, Carlie Maxwell 1-0, Darby King 1-0.
Goalkeepers: Guilderland, Kaitlyn Hess, 14. Shaker, Julia Maloney, 12 saves.
CLASS B
BURNT HILLS-BALLSTON LAKE 9, NISKAYUNA 8 (OT)
BH-BL 5 3 0 0 1 — 9
Niskayuna 4 4 0 0 0 — 8
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake scoring: Anna Ankabrandt 1-0, Nakona Wolfe 2-0, Nicole Beardsley 2-1, Christina Krowel 1-0, Haley Schultz 1-0, Mackenzie LeVan 1-0, Aubrey Kamppila 1-0, Nikki Pedone 0-1. Niskayuna scoring: Jillian Macri 1-1, Alissa Franze 4-0, Marissa DiVietro 1-1, Bri Sacks 1-0, Ellia Petraccione 1-0.
Goalkeepers: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Lexie Ball, 11 saves. Niskayuna, Asa Goldstock, 14 saves.
CLASS C
ALBANY ACADEMY 15, EMMA WILLARD 3
EW 2 1 — 3
AA 8 7 — 15
Emma Willard scoring: Xani Shultis 2-0, Kiki Cunningham 1-0, Elise Campbell 0-1. Albany Academy scoring: Emma Hardy 4-2, Gabby Uccellini 4-0, Marielle McBride 1-0, Emily Martin 6-1, Annika Tomson 0-1.
Goalkeepers: Emma Willard, Olivia Gundrum, 5 saves. Albany Academy, Alex MacAffer, 2 saves.
Categories: High School Sports
