MAHOPAC — The Shenendehowa boys’ lacrosse team couldn’t have found itself in a better position on Saturday morning, up five goals heading into the fourth quarter, in its Class A regional matchup against Section 1’s Scarsdale.
Scarsdale, however, set out intent on telling a different story.
The Section 1 champions went on a run in the final period, scoring six unanswered goals to secure a 10-9 comeback victory
“You know what, hats off to Scarsdale,” said Shenedehowa coach Jason Gifford. “They didn’t quit, they didn’t give up.”
The Plainsmen started off the first quarter by scoring four of the first five goals in the game, to take a 4-1 lead. At halftime, Shenendehowa had a 6-3 advantage.
While Shenendehowa built its lead to 9-4 after three quarters, Scarsdale came out in the fourth determined not to allow the Plainsmen to regain possession.
“We were doing a good job of getting clears early, very patient and efficient on offense, which is something we knew we needed to be,” Gifford said. “With some penalties and some failed clears down the stretch, we didn’t really see the ball much in the fourth quarter.”
Nathan Wolfe had two goals and three assists for Shenendehowa, while Braden Fahey and Sam LoPresti each tacked on two goals. Freddy Hicks contributed one goal and two assists.
Nathan Seslowe got the fourth-quarter rally started for Scarsdale with two straight goals. He was followed with goals from Rhett Needleman and Jared Hoffman, as the Raiders cut their deficit to one goal.
Jacob Goldstein, who tallied four assists in the game, tied the game at 9-9 with a goal of his own with about 1:30 remaining. Ryan Ornstein put in the game winner for Scarsdale with five seconds on the clock.
While the Plainsmen struggled the entire game against Scarsdale at the draw, they had been able to regain possession until the final period.
On two occasions in the fourth quarter, Shenendehowa was able gain the ball back, only to be stripped moments later by Scarsdale. The third time the Plainsmen gained possession in the quarter, Gifford called a timeout, hoping to settle things down.
“My guys stuck to the game plan,” Gifford said. “They did a great job, and we just needed one play to go our way down the stretch.”
After defeating Shaker in a tight Section 2 Class A championship game, 8-7, Shenendehowa blew away Section 9’s Monroe-Woodbury 22-6 in its sub-regional contest on Tuesday. The Plainsmen finish their season with a record of 16-4.
“I’m ecstatic about this team,” Gifford said. “They are such a great group to be around, and I think that’s why this hurts, because it’s done now, but we were hoping to be at UAlbany for the semis, taking that next step with this group.”
Scardale advances to the NYSPHSAA Class A semifinals Wednesday at UAlbany and will take on either Section 8’s Farmingdale or Section 11’s Northport.
Shenendehowa 4 2 3 0 — 9
Scarsdale 1 2 1 6 — 10
Shenendehowa scoring: Hicks 1-2, Carroll 1-1, Wolfe 2-3, Fahey 2-1, LoPresti 2-0, Metler 1-0. Scarsdale scoring: Hoffman 2-0, Needleman 1-0, Goldstein 1-4, Baldwin 1-1, Ornstein 1-0, Seslowe 2-0, Burrows 2-1.
Categories: Clifton Park and Halfmoon, High School Sports, Sports
