Having waited more than two decades before snaring a Section III championship again in 2017, the Jamesville-DeWitt girls lacrosse team only had to wait 12 more months to get another.
And the Red Rams did so by erasing an early five-goal deficit in Tuesday’s sectional Class C final against Fulton at SUNY-Cortland and then pulling away with another big scoring surge in the late going to beat the Red Raiders 19-14.
There was no secret about the challenge no. 2 seed Fulton posted to no. 1 seed J-D. Both regular-season meetings between these sides had gone to the Red Rams by a single goal after it trailed in both of those games.
Thus, when Fulton did the same thing in the sectional final, J-D didn’t panic, figuring that the game’s frantic pace would eventually turn in its favor.
Both defenses struggled in the early going, and that played to the Red Raiders’ advantage early. Three goals by Jordan Coulon negated an early hat trick from Riley Burns as Fulton built an 8-3 advantage midway through the first half.
But When Alyssa MacLachlan converted at the 15-minute mark, it sent the Rams off on a spree of its own. MacLachlan, Burns, Ana Dieroff and Katie Lutz each took turns finding the net in a 5-0 run that tied the game.
Even when Emma Weaver briefly put the Red Raiders back in front, J-D absorbed it and, in the last minute of the half, saw MacLachlan and Lutz convert again, and the Rams led 10-9 at the break.
The exchanges continued early in the second half, Fulton going in front as Coulon scored and assisted on Weaver’s tally, J-D answering with MacLachlan and Lutz both converting again.
The Rams never trailed again, but didn’t get away for a while, either, as the defenses finally settled in, perhaps helped by a slower pace in the hot (90 degree) conditions.
Still clinging to a one-goal lead, 14-13, J-D doubled that margin when Lutz netted her fifth goal with 8:58 left, a harbinger for the game’s decisive move.
Over a stretch of just 92 seconds, Dieroff and Lutz both struck twice, Dieroff running her total to five goals and Lutz topping them all with six goals, plus a pair of assists.
With the sectional title secure, J-D heads to Potsdam Thursday to meet Section X champion Massena with a berth in the regional final Saturday against Vestal at Corning High School at stake.
