By Jordan J. Michael

GUILDERLAND –– The Lady Dutch lacrosse team can’t stop scoring goals.

The team outscored Shenendehowa and Saratoga, its sectional quarterfinal and semi-final victims five times over. Guilderland beat Shen, 18 to 3, on Monday and followed that up with an 18-to-4 win over the Blue Streaks on Wednesday. Both games were at home.

The Lady Dutch had only two close games all season; a 6-to-5 win over Class B giant Brighton and a 9-to-5 win over Bethlehem last Thursday. The team is now 19-0, ranked seventh in the nation, and hasn’t lost since last year’s Class A state semi-finals.

The Enterprise asked Head Coach Gary Chatnik why his team couldn’t be beat after the Shen game on Monday.

“I disagree when people tell me my team can’t be beat,” Chatnik said. “Any team can lose, no matter how great they are. That’s why we prepare for every game. We had a flat game against Bethlehem and could have easily lost. People called that game a ‘scare,’ but we won by four goals. It’s kind of ridiculous.”

Guilderland scored 18 goals without its leading scorer, Danielle Tetreault, on Monday. She was sitting on the bench with her left foot in a bucket of ice after she twisted her ankle the previous day.

Tetreault was back to her scoring ways on Wednesday with a brace and a nimble step. Tetreault leads the team with 64 goals, 26 assists, and 90 points.

“When Tetreault was out, it further showed the depth of our team,” said Chatnik. “We have plenty of players that can score. We have 10 girls with 10 or more goals.”

Saying the Lady Dutch can score is an understatement. The team this season has scored 302 goals and has only given up 80. Goalie Amanda Santandrea had only one save against Saratoga.

“I’ve been watching amazing lacrosse all season,” said Santandrea on Monday. “I could never get bored of watching the offense demolish because it makes my job a little easier.”

It’s not all the offense getting the credit, either. The Guilderland defense smothers other offenses and rarely gives up a shooting lane. The Blue Streaks scored only one goal in the second half of Wednesday’s game.

“I can attribute all of my success to the wonderful defense,” Santandrea said. “A lot of the team dynamic is defense. This is just another hoorah for them.”

Senior Jen Madsen, who had seven goals and eight assists over the last two games, told The Enterprise that the State Finals are in back of the players’ minds.

“We’re thinking about going all the way, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves,” said Madsen. “We had a wake-up call against Bethlehem and a real close game against Brighton. We’re hustling and doing all the little things that lead to greater things.”

No where to go but up

Bridget Daley took Shenendehowa’s Alayna Kaiser one-on-one all the way for the goal to make it 8 to 0 in Monday’s sectional quarterfinal. Kristen Cagino scored with 21 seconds left in the first half to make it 12 to 0.

The Lady Plainsmen had only two wins during the regular season and was down, 16-0, before finally tallying a goal.

“Guilderland works well together and has a ton of talent,” said Shenendehowa coach Jennifer Kish. “We can’t leave feeling frustrated. Really good teams win games.”

The Lady Dutch had a 9-to-3 lead early in the second half against Saratoga. Tetreault made a nice spin move and fired a shot to take the lead to 11 to 3. Amanda Best scored on a free position to make it 14 to 4.

“We work hard to get ground balls and do all we can to find openings in the defense,” Madsen said. “We never freeze on a shooting opportunity. This is a no-hesitation game.”

Guilderland will have a rematch with Bethlehem for the sectional title on May 27 at the University of Albany at 7:30 p.m.

“All we need to do is keep the intensity up and make good decisions,” said Chatnik. “We’re anxious and ready to play.”