CORTLAND – For more than two decades, the Baldwinsville girls lacrosse program had endured all sorts of high points and low points, successes and setbacks, in the quest for a second state championship.
That quest finally ended in the most emphatic way possible.
Exceptional in every phase of the game, the Bees topped Northport 15-9 Saturday at SUNY-Cortland and, by doing so, claimed that long-elusive state title to go with the one earned back in 2000.
“We’ve been playing (lacrosse) together since we were five years old,” said senior Sydney Huhtala. “It’s so great to get this and it means everything.”
“It’s amazing,” said junior Carlie Desimone. “Our chemistry is so strong, and this was an all-around team effort.”
Northport was an appropriate opponent for this coronation. These same Tigers had beaten these same Bees in the last state Class A final held in 2019, and that 10-8 defeat lingered for every older B’ville player, even if the current seniors were freshmen at the time.
After edging Rush-Henrietta in Friday’s state semifinal, the team went to defender Sophia Ianno’s house and watched film on Northport. Bees head Megan Tabor said that she was confident her players could perform well, but that what happened exceeded her expectations.
Northport got the game’s opening goal from Julia Huxtable 3:48 into the game. It was the only lead the Tigers would hold.
Barely a minute later, Brianna Peters put the Bees on the board, foreshadowing a first half where the sophomore constantly made her way through Northport’s defenses.
“It was the best I’ve ever played,” said Peters. “But it was our whole team (playing well). We wanted to win so badly.”
Desimone, seconds after returning from a yellow card, found the net and Grace Hollenbeck followed less than two minutes later, giving B’ville the lead for good.
Three times, the Bees answered Tigers goals by scoring less than a minute later, twice on goals by Peters. That, plus back-to-back tallies by Sophia Muscolino, created an 8-4 margin.
When Peters netted a transition goal barely a minute before halftime, it gave her seven points on the day. Even with a last-second goal from Northport’s Emma McLam, B’ville led 9-5 at the break.
Yet the Bees could hardly relax. A day earlier in the state semifinals, the Tigers trailed Suffern at halftime, then outscored the Mounties 8-2 in the second half.
“We were playing great,” said Desimone. “But we had to keep up the pressure.”
Sure enough, the Bees saw Huhtala and Mia Pozzi continue to dominate on draws early in the second half, their wins setting up Desimone for consecutive goals along with an assist on Hunter’s second tally that made it 12-6.
All the while, B’ville’s defense, led by Ianno, Huhtala, Maeve Bartell and Izzy Murabito, made sure Northport did not hit on consecutive goals until late in the second half, while goalie Sam Tanguay made three saves.
The Bees erased all doubts when Desimone hit on her fourth goal with 8:32 left and Pozzi converted 42 seconds later.
Peters found the net for her fifth goal with 3:41 to play, and B’ville – players, coaches, parents and students alike – could start to celebrate the conclusion of a 22-year chase for ultimate glory.
One of the spectators was B’ville’s former head coach, Doug Rowe. Way back in 1999, he had seen the Bees lose a last-second state title game, only to return one year later and win it all.
Rowe said he reminded Tabor of that fact, even though three years, not one, separated the two state finals between B’ville and Northport.
Everyone clad in red was quite happy to see this type of history take place again.
