Maybe it figured that a full rainbow spread over the eastern horizon at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium as the East Syracuse Minoa boys lacrosse team celebrated its first Section III championship since 2004.
It took a bit of magic – and a lot of superb defense – for the no. 2 seed Spartans to topple no. 1 seed Auburn 7-6 in Thursday’s sectional Class B final, with the outcome in doubt until goalie Andrew Steigerwald made the last of his 18 saves in the waning seconds.
“This is really special,” said head coach Jon McCoy, who is an ESM alum. “To bring a sectional championship back to this community means a lot.”
Steigerwald said he never expected his team to turn into a championship unit, but it did so inspired by his work in the net and by the key contributions at crucial moments from the likes of face-off man Dan Boland and attacker Derrek Madonna.
Against an Auburn team that beat them 8-6 in April, the Spartans controlled possession throughout large portions of the first half, with Boland winning eight of 12 face-offs. That included two draws early in the second quarter that directly led to goals by Madonna and Luke Rosaschi seven seconds apart.
Despite all of this, the Maroons fought back to tie it, 5-5, at halftime, leading to a third-quarter standoff. It mostly involved ESM unable to clear the ball out of its own end and forced back into defensive mode.
The likes of Matt Thompson, Chad Temple, Will Healy and Devon Spencer had to put in extra work to frustrate Auburn’s forwards, though it helped that, every time the Maroons got a shot, Steigerwald turned it back.
McCoy said he wasn’t surprised by Steigerwald’s staggering effort. “He’s been consistent all year long,” the coach said.
Auburn did inch in front, 6-5, on Matt VanLiew’s goal just 17 seconds into the fourth quarter. More chances would follow, but again Steigerwald and the ESM back line made the stops, waiting for someone on the Spartans’ attack to break through
With 4:57 left, Madonna did so, his goal tying it again at 6-6. Following another Steigerwald save, the Spartans took possession and patiently worked it around until Madonna, with 2:45 left, sent one past Parker Hogan for his fourth goal of the game.
That still left lots of time for the Maroons, who made its own defensive stop and took the ball. Mitch Fanning, from the right side, shot with 30 seconds left – and Steigerwald stopped it, his 11th save of the half, and was able to run out most of the remaining clock.
Just getting to the final was tough enough for ESM, who had to make a fourth-quarter comeback to edge no. 3 seed Oswego 15-14 in the semifinals, the third time these two had met this spring.
The Buccaneers beat the Spartans 10-9 on April 13, with ESM getting even by a 16-5 margin a week later. Now, with much larger stakes, the third game would resemble the first, except for the team that finished on top.
A strong first quarter did not give the Spartans, with a 5-2 lead, any sort of comfort, because the Bucs clawed back in the middle stages, moving within one, 8-7, by halftime, and then forging an 10-10 tie by the time they reached the final period.
Oswego appeared to gain control with three straight goals to start the fourth quarter. But ESM made up that deficit, inched out in front and held on with one more scoring outburst anchored by Derrek Madonna, who finished with six goals and two assists.
Lance Madonna scored three times as Rosaschi got a goal and four assists. Nate Jacobs had one goal and one assist as single tallies also went to Boland, David Neff, Alex Recor and Mark Willette. Boland and Alex Kelsey earned assists and each of Steigerwald’s 12 saves proved important.
Far more stops were needed against Auburn – but they were made, and ESM could look forward to the state Class B tournament, where on Wednesday it meets Section IV champion Vestal on the Golden Bears’ home field in the regional round.
