Sports Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, June 11, 2009
Guilderland’s strong run ends with loss to Yorktown
By Jordan J. Michael
ALBANY –– The Dutchmen lacrosse team made it as far as any had before in the school’s history but had no answers against Yorktown in the Class A regional final at the University of Albany on Tuesday.
The Cornhuskers brought Guilderland’s season to an end with a 16-to-4 win. The Dutch hung around for the first few minutes, but the Yorktown offense was too much to handle.
A crowd –– with many splashes of red –– had come with banners, prepared to cheer. The expectation was palpable. But the crowd quieted as the Cornhuskers scored again and again.
“My guys shouldn’t be hanging their heads because we got this far and we got to play a national power,” said Dutchmen Head Coach Sean McConaghy. “This was quite the experience.”
The Cornhuskers are seen as a powerhouse in the world of lacrosse because the team has won 28 Section I titles in its history.
“When I looked at myself in the mirror this morning, I thought we could win this game,” said McConaghy after the game. “We had to play a perfect game and we didn’t. We didn’t win face-offs or ground balls. Yorktown was the better team.”
“We had a pretty good scouting report on them and we came to play,” said Cornhusker Head Coach Dave Marr said of Guilderland. “We won a lot of face-offs and they didn’t have too many chances.”
Yorktown scored in the first 11 seconds of the game when Remy Lieberman scooped up the ball and ran down the field for the goal. Ty Schuldt scored a minute later off an assist from Justin Mabus. Travis Moore got Guilderland on the board with a rifling shot past Michael Bonitatibus. The Cornhuskers had a 2-to-1 lead.
Yorktown went on to score three consecutive goals. The first was a high blast from John Ranagan, followed by another goal from Mabus. Kevin Interlicchio wrapped around the goal to bring the Cornhusker lead to 5 to 1.
Moore and Rory Nunamacher scored back-to-back unassisted goals to get the Dutchmen within two at 5 to 3. Mabus and Schuldt scored goals for Yorktown to silence any hope of a comeback. The score was 7 to 3 after the first quarter.
“I thought, when we brought it to within two, that the momentum would shift to our side,” Nunamacher said. “We ended up turning the ball over too much. Yorktown was scoring left and right. They were stronger and faster than us.”
The second quarter was scoreless until Tom Casey netted a goal for the Cornhuskers with 3:40 to go in the half. Lieberman passed from behind the net and found a cutting Casey for another goal. The first half was over and Yorktown led, 9-3.
The Cornhuskers pushed the lead all the way to 15 to 3 in the fourth quarter. Lieberman had four goals and one assist and Interlicchio had three goals and an assist. Christian DePersis had nine saves for the Dutchmen.
“I’m just glad that we all got a sectional title,” Nunamacher said. “I’ve been around these guys for a long time and it will be weird playing with other people next year.”
Reaching a pinnacle
Guilderland earned a spot in the regional final with a 10-to-6 win over Warwick Valley on Saturday in the semi-final at the University of Albany.
“We knew that Warwick was a team that was winning big, so we didn’t take anything for granted,” said Paul Jones, who had two goals and two assists. “We had to remain calm because they came out with a lot of energy.”
The Dutchmen had plenty of shots in the first quarter and Moore eventually got one in the net off an assist by Nunamacher. Mike Grace had a couple of nice saves for Warwick and the first quarter ended 1 to 0.
Guilderland came out hot in the second quarter and scored four consecutive goals. Jones put two goals in to make it 3 to 0. Dan Lee scored while stumbling into the crease and Nunamacher put in a fancy behind-the-back shot on the man advantage to make it 5 to 0.
Keegan McNamara scored the first goal for the Wildcats with 6:53 to go in the first half. E.J. Genzano found a cutting Matt Siracusa for the goal with 0:25 left to give the Dutchmen a 6-to-1 halftime lead.
Moore had three goals and Nunamacher had two goals and one assist. DePersis had 10 saves in goal for the Dutch.
“Hopefully, this is the first of many regional games to come,” said McConaghy. “You don’t just reach one point and stop. You continue to build towards something higher.”