When high school girls lacrosse games are tied at the end of regulation, the play a pair of mandatory three-minute overtime periods.
But when Cazenovia and Bishop Ludden/Bishop Grimes met up in Monday’s opening round of the Section III playoffs at Cazenovia College’s Christakos Field, they didn’t stop at two extra periods – or at three, either.
In fact, nearly four OT periods lapsed before the Gaelic Knights ended the marathon with Julia Catalano’s goal, her lone tally of game, to end the Lakers’ season in an 8-7 thriller.
Due to various scheduling issues, this opening-round sectional game was played two days after the rest of the round was completed, giving the survivor just 24 hours to recuperate before going to face top seed, defending champion and overwhelming favorite Skaneateles in the quarterfinals.
Thus situated, Cazenovia and Ludden/Grimes played a game that had a full season’s worth of excitement into the 61-plus minutes they spent on the field, far surpassing the Lakers’ 11-6 victory attained over the Gaelic Knights back on April 24.
It took most of the first half for the Lakers to forge a modest margin. Though never trailing, Cazenovia couldn’t get away, either, despite early goals from Audrey Burbidge, Keeley Race and Dana Kiselica.
Then Burbidge struck for her second goal late in the half, and Grace Milmoe scored, too, pushing the Lakers to a 5-3 halftime lead, something that was far from comfortable.
Ludden/Grimes then made it far more uncomfortable by opening the second half on a 4-0 run, anchored by Teresa Shattuck, who kept making deft passes to her teammates when she wasn’t scoring herself.
Trailing 7-5 with less than 10 minutes left, and staring at the end of its season, now it was the Lakers’ turn to rally, breaking a drought of 18-plus minutes with Milmoe’s second goal. Then, with 6:04 to play, Sarah Willard blasted a shot past Gaelic Knights goalie Meg Farrell to tie it, 7-7.
And it would stay that way for a long time. Both at the end of regulation, and through the pair of mandatory OT periods, the Lakers would get chances to get in front, only to have Farrell, who finished with 10 saves, turn them back.
At the same time, though, Cazenovia’s defense kept thwarting Ludden/Grimes, with Zantha Hourigan adding to her total of six saves and the back line making key stops, too.
Once the regular OT periods were done, it went to a sudden-victory format where the first goal wins, but even that didn’t work in the third OT, which came and went with the 7-7 deadlock intact.
Late in the fourth extra period, after yet another big stop from Farrell, the Gaelic Knights pushed into the Lakers’ end, Shattuck, already with four assists, found Catalano cutting to the net, passed it to her – and watched Catalano fire one past Hourigan to end it.
