GUILDERLAND — The third time was not the charm for the Guilderland boys’ lacrosse team.

For the third year in a row, the Dutchmen faced rival Niskayuna for the Class A Section II lacrosse title and for the third year in a row, the Dutch came home with the runner-up plaque.

It was also the third time this season that the Dutch and Silver Warriors crossed sticks, with Niskayuna coming away with a 11-9 win in the most important meeting, on Friday. The teams split during the regular season.
"I told my team at the end of the game that I had never been part of a team that played with more intensity, heart, and desire than they did that night," said Guilderland Coach Sean McConaghy.

An up and down first half

The Dutchmen jumped out to a quick lead in the game only to watch it disappear in the second quarter.

Senior Uriah Myrie scored back-to-back goals to give the Dutchmen a 2-0 lead within the first three minutes of the game.

Myrie was assisted by classmate Chris Conway on the first goal with 9:55 left in the opening period. Myrie’s second goal of the contest was an unassisted goal with 9:21 to go in the first frame.

Sophomore Rory Nunamacher made the score 3-0 on an unassisted goal with 5:27 left in the first quarter.

But Niskayuna scored three unanswered goals of its own to tie the game at the end of the first quarter, 3-3.

The Silver Warriors dominated the second quarter. They outscored the Dutchmen, 6-2, in the stanza and took a 9-5 lead at halftime.
"The first quarter was great," McConaghy said. "We had a lot of intensity throughout all of the pre-game. They were at a level they’ve never shown since I coached any of them.
"Then in the second quarter," McConaghy added, "we were throwing the ball away and then we were down 9-5. It isn’t a great situation to be in against Niskayuna."

Nunamacher scored both goals in the second quarter for the Dutchmen.

"We fought to the end"

The Dutchmen put together a valiant effort in the second half of the contest, outscoring the Silver Warriors, 4-2. But they couldn’t catch up in the last 24 minutes of play.
"We fought to end," McConaghy said. "It could have been a 16-5 game. We had our chances at the end."

Nunamacher ended the game with six goals. Myrie had two goals and one assist to aid the Dutchmen. Senior Matt Stillman also scored for the Dutch.

Juniors Quinn Connell and Aaron Cahill each had an assist as did senior Chris Conway.
"When we fell behind," McConaghy said, "we could’ve been, ‘Here we go again, another sectional final, we are going to get crushed by Niskayuna.’ The seniors said that they are not going to let that happen. They said, ‘Tonight we are going to make a game of it.’ And they sure did."

Junior Nick Koss made 11 saves in goal for the Dutchmen, who outscored Niskayuna, 3-0, in the final quarter.
"They made the high school proud"

The loss ends the high-school careers for eight Guilderland seniors. Myrie, Stillman, and Conway will graduate as will defenders Scott Raffensperger, and Kyle Klapp, goalie Nick Stefani, and midfielders Jordan Dubose and Greg Murphy.

Raffensperger and Dubose will play at the University at Albany next year.
"We will miss those guys," McConaghy said. "Especially Scott and Jordan. They’ve been with us since [assistant Coach Kris] Bremmer and I took over the varsity, and all the ups and downs in between."

The Guilderland team will have a good group of underclassmen returning.
"We had four sophomores and a freshman get a taste of it," McConaghy said of the finals’ trip. All the juniors and sophomores were new, except for Cahill. I’ve been pressing them all year long to play for a moment like Friday."

The underclassmen are a product of a successful junior varsity team. And there will be help on the way.
"The last three years, the junior varsity has lost a total of four or five games," McConaghy said. "I know this year they lost one and last year they lost one.
"If the j.v. guys do their job and we do our job, it makes things easier," McConaghy added.

The key to the Dutchmen’s success is having players step into different roles.
"We need for guys to step up each year to be stars and to fill roles," McConaghy said. "Guys like Kyle Klapp and Chris Conway that don’t get a lot of attention, have to play hard. They have a huge role on the team."

All of this year’s seniors will move on to colleges and have shown strong character over the years.
"It might sound like a cliché, but, during the banquet, I kept saying that he is a nice kid," McConaghy said. "This is a great group of kids on and off the field.
"It is fun to work with a bunch of kids like that," the coach added. "They make their parents proud, Guilderland lacrosse proud, and the high school proud."