Things broke well for the East Syracuse-Minoa girls lacrosse team, in that it gained a no. 2 seed for the Section III Class B playoffs and a bye directly into the semifinals.
However, the Spartans could not take full advantage as, in that semifinal Thursday at Liverpool High School Stadium, it took a 12-11 defeat to no. 3 seed and defending champion Oswego.
An active first half saw ESM appear to gain control, working its way to an 8-6 lead. As a whole, the Spartans did a terrific job putting shots past Oswego’s All-American goalie, Tayler Bowman, as Alex McEachron picked up an early hat trick.
None of this fazed the Buccaneers, though, as in the second half it worked back to a 10-10 tie behind the work of Taylor Giglio, who finished with three goals and two assists.
With 5:27 left, Oswego inched in front, 11-10, on Kaitlyn Armstrong’s goal. The Spartans were unable to get the tie, and the Bucs patiently worked the ball around until Becca Martin hit on her third goal with 1:17 to play.
Still, there was time for ESM, and McEachron notched her fifth goal with 28 seconds left. Better yet, the Spartans won the ensuing draw and charged to the net, getting a free-position shot – only to have Bowman stop it, her 15th and most important save of the day.
To help McEachron, Rachel Toole and Nikki DeVona both had two goals and one assist, while Jill Alaimo and Sara Hennessey each had one goal. ESM goalie Courtnee Notaro had nine saves as the Spartans’ season finished with an 11-7 record.
By contrast, Jamesville-DeWitt had the no. 5 seed and had to play in the first round last Tuesday night – which led to a quick exit as no. 4 seed Fulton ripped past the Red Rams 18-6.
Fulton had built its 13-3 mark during the season partially from beating J-D twice in closer contests by scores of 13-11 and 16-11.
Yet in this third and most important encounter, the Red Raiders topped both of those efforts. J-D was close in the first half, only trailing 8-5 despite four goals from Fulton’s Amelia Coakley. Caroline Kopp and Lauren Beville both scored twice, with Taylor Fallon and Taylor Bierwagen earning the other goals.
But the second half entirely belonged to the hosts as Coakley’s fifth goal (she finished with six) ignited a 10-1 outburst, the Red Rams’ defense overwhelmed. Aside from Coakley, Julia Ludington stood out with four goals as Maire Prosak, in defeat, recorded eight saves.
J-D’s season concluded with a 10-7 record, nearly half of those defeats coming against Fulton, who would oust Watertown in overtime to advance to Tuesday’s sectional final against the Oswego side that took out ESM.
