GUILDERLAND — The Dutchmen just can’t figure out the Silver Warriors.

The Guilderland boys’ lacrosse team put up a strong effort but fell short against their arch rival, Niskayuna, 6-3, on Tuesday night in Guilderland.

“Their guys made good plays,” Guilderland Coach Sean McConaghy said after the game. “What are you supposed to do? Our kids did what we wanted them to do.”

Niskayuna blew open a one-goal game with three unanswered goals late in the third quarter.

Guilderland’s Quinn Connell made the score, 3-2, after he intercepted a pass in the Dutch’s offensive end and went to the goal and fired a shot into the net. Connell’s short-handed goal — the Dutchmen were killing off a penalty — came with 9:04 left in the third quarter.

But Zach Frohne scored an unassisted goal for Niskayuna with 4:56 left in the stanza to make the score 4-2.

Steve D’Amario scored on a pretty move to the goal to make the score 5-2 with 1:50 left in the frame.

Mark Panneton closed out the scoring run with a goal a minute later. Panneton scored on a quick shot after getting a perfect pass from Seth Berggren. The goal came with 50 seconds left in the quarter.

The third stanza ended with Niskayuna holding a 6-2 lead.

“Their guys made good lacrosse plays,” McConaghy said. “What can you do? It’s not anything we did.”

Aaron Cahill scored the final goal of the game with 10:32 left in the contest. Paul Jones assisted on the tally passing the ball to Cahill, who fired a hard high shot into the goal.

The first quarter ended in a scoreless tie, but Guilderland had plenty of opportunities. The Dutch dominated the time of possession and fired shot after shot at the Niskayuna goal but could not get the ball to hit the back of the net.

“We had the ball the whole quarter,” McConaghy said. “We just couldn’t get anything on the cage. But I would rather miss the cage than hit the goalie in the chest or the head. We did what we wanted to do. We just didn’t put the ball away. We got shots in this game. We probably had 10 more than last time.”

The Dutchmen lost to the Silver Warriors in April in a sloppy game. The Dutch threw the ball around in that contest and it resulted in a 5-4 loss.

“It’s tough”

On Tuesday, Franze and D’Amario, who will play at the University of Massachusetts next year, scored goals in the second quarter to give Niskayuna a 2-0, halftime lead.

Travis Moore got the Dutchmen on the scoreboard just under two minutes into the second half.

Moore got a pass from Cahill and fired a shot into the upper corner of the goal. The tally made it a one-goal game with 10:25 left in the third frame.

Niskayuna’s Dan McKinney answered with a blast from the outside. The goal, which was assisted by Will McPartlon, gave the Silver Warriors a 4-2 lead with 9:14 left in the third quarter.

Connell then scored to pull the Dutchmen within one, but Niskayuna went on its run to take its big lead.

Guilderland held the advantage in shots taken in the contest, 33-28.

Nick Koss made 12 saves for Guilderland and James Manchester made 11 for Niskayuna.

“It’s tough, their offense is legit,” McConaghy said of Niskayuna. “They are going to put the ball in the net or at least get quality shots.”

On to sectionals

Tuesday’s game was played in front of a large crowd on Guilderland’s football field. The game was televised and is was also Senior Night.

“Beforehand, I told the guys it’s just another game of lacrosse,” McConaghy said. “It’s good for the kids. It gives them some publicity.”

Guilderland seniors Andrew Barr, Cahill, Connell, Jon Fogel, Koss, Brian Linehan, and Paul Malamood were honored before the game.

The Dutchmen wrap up the regular season on Thursday with a game against Canton High School in Plattsburgh. Then it is onto the sectionals for the Dutchmen.

Guilderland has an overall record of 15-2 and finishes with an 11-2 mark in the Suburban Council.

“We’re looking towards sectionals,” McConaghy said. “The Suburban Council season is over. You can’t complain with being 11-2. Not with facing Shen and Saratoga and the other teams we see every day.”