This particular run by the Christian Brothers Academy girls lacrosse team was not going to end in the state Class A semifinals.
Unlike 2017, when Pittsford beat them two victories short of a second consecutive state crown, the Brothers prevailed 13-8 over West Islip Friday at SUNY-Cortland to set up a trip to Saturday’s final against North Rockland or
CBA nearly surrendered four-goal lead in the second half, only to restore it in the waning minutes by staying aggressive with its attack when other sides may have tried to kill the clock.
With two physical, aggressive teams on the field, it only figured that earning goals would be tough, and it was nearly five minutes before Olivia Penoyer converted to get the Brothers on the board.
Twice in the early going, Iris Vinal made point-blank stops on shots by West Islip forwards, which sparked CBA on the other end as Penoyer earned a first-half hat trick with Anna Ziemba and Grace Hulslander also earning goals to build a 5-1 lead.
Again, it helped to have defenders Kathleen Harrigan, Paige Alletzhauser, Avery Penoyer and Ali Anderson on hand, disrupting West Islip’s attack on a regular basis throughout the first half.
And even when the Lions broke out of its early drought, the Brothers kept them at a distance, thanks to goals by Hulslander and Amanda Winn. With a 7-3 advantage at the break, CBA had a chance to pull away with one more timely spurt.
That didn’t happen, though. West Islip down CBA early in the second half and cut the margin to 7-5 on goals by Samantha Blair and Kristina Schweitzer, yet squandered several great chances to pull even closer.
Somehow, the Brothers weathered a drought of nearly 16 minutes until eighth-grader Gracie Britton, off a feed from Grace Hulslander, found the net with 11:16 left, but the Lions still closed the gap to 8-7 as Blair and Jaden Hampel converted.
Just in time, CBA’s offense found itself, and the senior trio of Hulslander, Olivia Penoyer and Claire Jeschke all played big parts.
Penoyer and Jeschke won a series of crucial draws, and within a span of 97 seconds the Brothers converted three times, two by Hulslander, one by Britton, restoring the margin the Lions had worked so hard to reduce.
Winn and Hulslander added goals late as part of a decisive 5-0 run, and the Brothers were on its way to the state final against Penfield, from Section V, who needed overtime to beat North Rockland 9-8 in the other semifinal.
Hulslander finished with five goals and two assists, with Penoyer getting three goals and one assist. Vinal stopped 10 of the 18 shots she faced.
