GUILDERLAND — On a rainy afternoon, the sun broke through just long enough to watch the Guilderland girls’ lacrosse team show its dominance in Section II girls’ lacrosse.

The Lady Dutch got off to a fast start in its 17-7 Class A sectional semifinal win over Bethlehem last Wednesday.

The Dutch scored goals on the first seven shots they took, weathered a Bethlehem run, and pulled away in the second half.

Guilderland will play in the Section II finals today (Thursday) at Union College at 7 p.m.

The Lady Dutch will face Shaker in a rematch of last year’s Section II championship game.

“We’re happy with it,” junior Danielle Tetreault said of last Wednesday’s game. “We took another step to go further. We’re ready for tougher and tougher games.”

“We’re going to the finals to keep looking to win,” junior Jen Madsen said. “We are always looking to win a championship. Going 17-0 doesn’t mean anything.”

“A good run”

The Lady Dutch finished the regular season with an unblemished 17-0 record.

“We had a good run,” said Guilderland Coach Gary Chatnik of beating Bethlehem. “We played well in the first half but then we lost possession and we just didn’t handle the ball well. They made plays and we didn’t.”

The Lady Dutch put on a shooting clinic in the beginning of the game.

Amanda Best opened up the scoring on the first shot of the game with 22:51 left in the opening half.

Chelsey Newman scored on a free position after a Bethlehem foul to make the score 2-0 with 21:46 left in the half.

Bethlehem scored when Shirah Fudin connected on a shot on a free position with 18:51 left in the half.

Guilderland scored two more goals to take a 4-1 lead.

Tetreault scored with an assist from Courtney Davis with 18:03 left in the opening half. Jen Madsen scored an unassisted goal with 17:38 left to make the score 4-1.

Fudin scored another goal for the Lady Eagles. She scored after getting a pass from Megan O’Donnell on a fast-break opportunity with 15:39 left in the half.

Guilderland answered when Newman scored her second goal of the game with 14:14 left in the half when she connected on a free position opportunity.

That tally was the first of a six-goal run.

Davis scored on a free position with 13:47 left in the half, as did Newman with 13:02 left to make the score 7-2.

Tetreault scored another goal with 10:15 left on a drive to the goal; she jumped in the air when she took her shot. She followed with another goal about two minutes later, scoring with an assist from Madsen.

Bridgit Daley scored with 7:43 left in the half. Her unassisted goal made the score 10-2.

Fudin scored her third goal of the half. She capitalized on a free position chance after a Guilderland foul.

Bethlehem scored twice more in the half as Brittany Howland scored on a free position with 3:30 left and Michelle Primomo scored with 1:03 left on an assist from Fudin.

Those goals made the score 10-5 at halftime.

“We stepped up”

The Dutch controlled the play in the second half and added to their lead with two goals.

Newman scored her fourth goal of the contest with 22:06 left in the half. Abbey Fashouer picked up an assist on the tally.

Newman scored again with 13:18 left in the contest. Tetreault assisted on the goal that gave the Lady Dutch a seven-goal lead, 12-5.

“We made two nice plays to start the second half,” Chatnik said. “We were great with the ball and we got pretty good shots.”

Tetreault scored an unassisted goal with 11:58 left in the contest to give the Dutch a 13-5 lead.

Howland scored for Bethlehem with an assist from Kaitlyn Martin with 10:55 left in the second half.

Madsen scored with 10:41 left in the game on a strong drive to the goal.

Martin scored with 9:03 left in the game on a free position.

It was the last goal of the game for the Lady Eagles.

The Lady Dutch scored the final three goals to provide the final margin.

Davis scored with 7:23 left in the contest. Madsen assisted on the tally.

Fashouer scored on a free position with 4:33 left and added another unassisted goal with three minutes left in the game.

“We stepped up when we had too,” Best said.

“Bethlehem plays hard,” Chatnik said. “They are a good team. I felt they would make it a game at some point. But we answered. That’s been our trademark all year.”

Balance

The Dutch had seven different players score in the contest, a key to their success.

“The trick is the balance,” Chatnik said. “Everyone played well. When you get that many scorers in a game, that’s an advantage.

“We have nine kids that have double digits in goals,” Chatnik added. “That’s a nice balance. The girls have a good feel for the game.”

Guilderland finished the regular season with a 17-0 record. With wins over Schenectady in the sectional quarterfinals and Bethlehem in the semifinal, the Lady Dutch bumped their mark to 19-0.

The goal for the Lady Dutch is to get to Cortland for the state semifinals. Last year, Guilderland lost in the regionals to Lakeland of Section I.

“We are taking it one game at a time,” Madsen said. “Our goal is to win states, but we are thinking about one game at a time. We are looking at it as the next step toward our goal or another rung in the ladder.”

“Another game down,” Davis said. “Five more to go.”

After years of being the hunter in Section II lacrosse, the Guilderland players know that after winning last year’s crown they are the hunted this year.

“We’ve learned to deal with it,” Tetreault said. “The pressure helps pump us up. Our hearts start pounding and we’re ready to bring it.”