LIVE: Girls Lax State Finals

Here we are again, the Class C state finals with the Shoreham-Wading River girls lacrosse team at SUNY Cortland. The 'Summer of 69' is blasting over the speakers as we get ready for the championship game. The Wildcats hope to add the 'Summer of '09' to '08 and '07 with title No. 3.

The Wildcats, after a very impressive 21-11 win against Carthage yesterday, will take on Honeoye Falls-Lima, 18-6 winners against Nyack. Honeoye Falls comes into the game with a 19-2 record and having not allowed more than 10 goals this season in any one game. Can the Wildcats do it today? The first draw is set for 9:30 a.m.

The key for the Wildcats will be a strong first half. If the Wildcats can take a lead into halftime, even if it's minimal like two goals yesterday, they've always shown a tendency to wear teams down over a game. So for Honeoye Falls (Section V) to have a chance, it'd be wise for them to take a lead into halftime and have the Wildcats chasing.

I'm led to believe Honeoye Falls is good at controlling possessions and not giving the opposition many scoring chances. No matter how good your defense is, if the other team has the ball enough, it will score. So to have not given up more than 10 goals this season means Honeoye Falls doesn't give the opposition a ton of chances.

The Wildcats were excellent on draws yesterday, especially in the second half which allowed them to build up the lead.

The leading scorer yesterday for Honeoye Falls was Lindsey Powell. She scored six goals with an assist. Jill Maier and Maggie Stankaitis both scored three. Amanda Willison had five assists.

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Here's the starting lineups:

HF-L

Attack: Taylor Burgart, Nora Stambaugh, Maggie Stankaitis, Trisha Schunk

Middies: Jill Maier, Anna Legrett, Amanda Willison

Defense: Hillary Cox, Ashley Moyer, Erin York, Maggie Wilk

Goalie: Emily Stankaitis

SWR

Attack: Jen DeVito, Megan Gersbeck, Rachel Wiederkehr, Codi Mullen

Middies: Stephanie Anderson, Chelsey Newman, Kaitlyn Brosco

Defense: Julie Hudecek, Isabelle Mahoney, Alex Franck, Sam Villafranca

Goalie: Michelle Verbeeck

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Stephanie Anderson is on the opening draw for SWR. Falls wills the draw but SWR gets it back on a turnover. The Wildcats first shot goes out of bounds and Falls gets it back.

Rachel Wiederkehr has a shot saved at 22:30. Falls takes over. Wildcats regain on turnover.

Wiederkehr misses on a free position at 21:40. Wildcats keep possession.

1-0 SWR. Wiederkehr converts this time as the Wildcats go ahead at 21:29. Credit DeVito with the assist.

2-0 SWR. Anderson leaps in front to catch a feed from Brosco and scores at 20:00

Falls gets the draw. SWR gets it back after a charge.

DeLea misses a free position at 19:35.

2-1. Lindsey Powell converts a free position at 18:10 to put Honeoye on the board.

Falls wins the draw.

2-2. Powell ties it with her second straight goal at 16:44

Falls wins its fourth draw in five tries.

3-2 HFL. Sierra Sarkis scores and the Wildcats trail by one at 16:10

Wildcats win the draw.

3-3. Newman scores her first on a bounce shot to tie the game at 15:42.

Wildcats on the draw.

DeLea shoots and misses and the Falls goalie is closest so the Wildcats lose it.

Verbeeck makes her first big save at 14:00.

We have a time-out at 12:40. Looks like a TV timeout. SWR has possession.

4-3. Wildcats regain the lead when Anderson scores in front after catching a feed from behind the cage from Gersbeck at 11:31.

Wildcats on the draw.

5-3 Newman scores again on a feed from Brosco to equal the biggest lead at 9:56.

Falls on the draw.

Wildcats defense forces a turnover and the Wildcats are trying to clear with under 9:30 to go.

This game has a much more deliberate pace than the start of yesterday's game .

6-3. Brosco scores her first to give the Wildcats their biggest lead at three with 6:32 to play.

Time-out on the field at 6:32. Looks like a Falls time-out.

Wildcats on the draw. But they lose it and Falls comes the other way.

6-4. Anna Legrett scores in transition to get the Cougars back into the game at 4:12.

6-5. Just like that it's back to a one-goal game when Powell scores her third on a free position at 3:40.

Wildcats get the draw and will look to expand their lead.

7-5. DeLea does just that with an open look in front. Give the assist to Brosco at 3:10.

Brosco scores but the goal is waved off because of a charge call at 2:40. Falls ball.

8-5. After an initial save on DeLea, DeVito gets in and puts it in with 1:05 to go. A huge goal there.

8-6. Falls scores with :03 to go when Amanda Wilson converts in front a feed from Powell.

HALFTIME:

SWR 8, HF-L 6

So the Wildcats have a two-goal lead going into the second half, the same margin as yesterday. The Wildcats offense has proved up to the task against this tough defense. They're on pace for 16 goals at this rate, which would shatter the high mark allowed by the Cougars this year, which is 10. 

Halftime Stats:

SWR Goals—

Anderson, 2 goals

Newman, 2 goals

Wiederkehr, 1 goal

Brosco, 1 goal

DeVito, 1 goal

DeLea, 1 goal

SWR Saves—

Verbeeck, 2

H-FL Goals—

Powell, 3 goals

Sarkis, 1 goal

Legrett, 1 goal

Willison, 1 goal

H-FL Saves—

Stankaitis, 6

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2nd HALF

The opening draw of the second half goes to Shoreham.

A yellow card on HFL has the Wildcats with a man-advantage with 24:48.

9-6. Anderson scores right away as the Wildcats equal their biggest lead again at 24:43.

Verbeeck with a save on a free position and the Wildcats come the other way.

A DeVito goal is waved off for a charge at 17:35. But SWR gets it back.

The pace has slowed here with under 14:00 to play.

Falls is in transition and Powell misses a golden opportunity one-on-one with Verbeeck. She simply lost control of the ball before she could shoot.

The clock stops at 12:41 as Codi Mullen is down on the turf. Trainer's come out to check on her.

She's being carried off the field. She's hobbling off without putting any pressure on her left leg. So we hope she's OK and can maybe come back in the final minutes.

10-6 Wiederkehr scores in front on an assist from Anderson with 12:15 to go and the Wildcats have their biggest lead.

Falls gets the draw and needs to get something going right away. But Franck forces a turnover, scoops a ground ball and the Wildcats clear.

11-6. Wiederkehr scores again on a feed from DeVito with 11:30 to go. But another SWR player is down on the ground. It's Brosco and she is able to walk off the field on her own.

11-7. Powell scores right off the draw to get the Cougars back into it. There's 11:08 to go.

Cougars win the draw.

Big save for Verbeeck at 10:50.

Another save for Verbeeck on a low shot. Wildcats looking to clear. Newman brings it across midfield and the Wildcats set up. SWR turns it over and Falls has it under 7:30 to play.

Verbeeck denies another shot. Wildcats come the other way.

12-7. Wiederkehr scores her third straight for SWR at 6:38 on a feed from Brosco.

Time-out on the field.

SWR wins the draw with Anderson. The Wildcats can't score and Falls clears the other way.

12-8 The Cougars inch closer with 5:36 to play on a goal by Powell.

We're approaching the 4 minute mark. Wildcats ball.

13-8 DeVito with a nice spin in front and she bounces the ball in with 3:51 to go. Give the assist to Ali Davis.

Wildcats get in on a turnover but then give it right back with under 2:20 to go.

Now SWR ball with 2:00 to go.

13-9 Powell scores her sixth with 1:22 to go.

Time-out on the field with 1:22.

Wildcats win the draw and will look to kill the clock on a third straight state title.

But Falls forces a turnover and charges the other way.

13-10 Legrett scores with :51 but is there enough time for Falls? Doesn't look like it.

Falls wins the draw for a little intrigue in the final minute.

13-11 Here's another goal! Maier scores off the draw off an assist from Willison with :38 to go.

Falls drives but the ball ends in Verbeeck's stick and that's it.

SWR 13, H-FL 11

FINAL SCORE

LIVE: Class C State Semifinals

Game time for the Class C state semifinals between Shoreham-Wading River and Carthage is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Both teams are on the field warming up and after a lot rain fell last night, it looks to be OK this morning. It's an overcast sky, but nothing that looks too threatening. 

The Wildcats haven't played many games this early and I'd guess neither has Carthage. It'll be interesting to see if the early start has any effect. I'm sure at this point in the season both teams are ready to go even if they started the game at 2 a.m.

The first half of the semifinals last year was the toughest stretch the Wildcats had in Cortland last year. The Wildcats have been able to come back when needed, but they'd be smart not to fall behind again. Especially against a Carthage team that has put up huge offensive numbers this year.

The starting lineups:

SWR—

Attack: Megan Gersbeck, Codi Mullen, Jen DeVito, Rachel Wiederkehr

Middies: Chelsey Newman, Kate Brosco, Steph Anderson

Defense: Isabelle Mahoney, Julie Hudecek, Alex Franck, Sam Villafranca

Goalie: Michelle Verbeeck

Carthage—

Attack: Katie Ferris, Alexis Egeberg

Middies: Kailah Kempney, Megan Serota, Emily Sauter, Gabrielle Kamide, Amy Tiernan, Katherine Deronda

Defense: Joelle Percy, Olivia Roggie, Kara Fahsel

Goalie: Ellyse Richardson

Well, only two players were announced as attack for Carthage, so we'll see who else ends up playing there...

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We're ready for the opening draw. It'll be Steph Anderson against Katie Ferris. The draw goes to SWR.

1-0 Right off the draw the Wildcats score on a goal by Chelsey Newman at 24:50. Wow.

2-0. Jen DeVito scores in front and the Wildcats are rolling to start. The goal at 24:33.

Carthage wins its first draw and sets up possession. Villafranca forces a turnover and the Wildcats get the ball.

Brosco turns it over at 23:12. 

2-1 Ferris scores in front in transition on a feed from Gabrielle Kamide at 23:00

Carthage takes its second draw.

2-2 Katherine Deronda splits two defenders and scores to tie the game at 21:58

Carthage takes the next draw.

3-2 Carthage. Ferris scores on a feed from Deronda at 21:47.

4-2. Right off the draw Ferris scores again at 21:38.

The Wildcats get possession after Carthage loses it out of bounds after the draw.

The Wildcats hit back-to-back pipes. Both Wiederkehr sisters hit the right post.

4-3. Brittany DeLea scores on a free position to get the Wildcats back within one at 19:38

Carthage takes the draw. 

5-3. Ferris drills a shot on the free position a step in for her fourth goal at 18:57.

5-4. Anderson scores in front on a feed from Rachel Wiederkehr who caused a turnover and kept the ball in bounds off the endline at 18:14

Wildcats win the draw and set up possession.

5-5. DeVito scores in front on an assist from DeLea at 17:38.

Comets on the draw. Verbeeck makes her first save of the game at 16:55.

6-5 SWR. Brosco scores on the free position at 16:00.

Amy Tiernan with a great play on defense to force a turnover with under 13:10 to play.

Comets turn it over on the other end and the Wildcats clear.

7-5. Anderson scores on a free position at 11:43.

Verbeeck with a great save in front at 10:35.

Ferris has gotten some good looks in front but has missed high or wide on a couple shots.

Wildcats turn it over and the Comets are coming the other way. The scoring has finally slowed a tad from the electric start.

Verbeeck with her third save at under 9:00. She's come up big after allowing the initial string of goals.

Verbeeck with back-to-back saves and she's been the difference so far.

7-6 Ferris scores in transition on a feed from Kamide at 4:40.

The Wildcats win the draw.

Anderson on a drive to the cage gets hit and she's down and slow to get up.

She takes a few deep breaths and will stay on the field. It's Carthage ball, however.

The Wildcats force a turnover when Carthage's goalie throws away a clearing pass.

8-6. Wiederkehr scores a super quick shot on an assist from Newman at 1:27

Carthage goalie comes up with her first save in the final seconds.

That's halftime:

SWR 8, Carthage 6

The winner of this game will face Honeoye Falls-Lima, which leads Nyack 13-2 at halftime.

Halftime Tally:

SWR Goals:

Anderson, 2 goals

DeVito, 2 goals

Newman, 1 goal, 1 assist

DeLea, 1 goal

Wiederkehr, 1 goal, 1 assist

Brosco, 1 goal

Carthage:

Ferris, 5 goals

Deronda, 1 goal, 1 assist

Kamide, 2 assists

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2nd Half

Wildcats win the opening draw.

9-6. Wiederkehr scores again in front on an assist from Brosco and the Wildcats have their biggest lead of the game at 24:01.

Verbeeck with her first save on Kempney.

10-6. DeVito scores to put the Wildcats ahead by four on a feed from Wiederkehr.

The Comets need a time-out. Carthage hasn't substituted at all that I can recall, so the Wildcats depth should wear the Comets down here in the second half. We've seen it time and time again. Carthage's goalie has struggled so far and the backup, Valerie McGuire, a freshman, is warming up.

10-7. Ferris leaps in front and almost slam-dunks the ball into the cage on a feed from Kamide at 21:55.

Wildcats win the draw, their third of the second half.

Big save against Anderson and the Comets are flying the other way. But Verbeeck comes up with a save the other way.

Mahoney with a great play on defense to force a turnover at 18:20.

11-7. Wiederkehr scores on a feed from Anderson as Vlahakis screamed "Rachel!" as the play developed. There's 17:49 to go.

It's the Wildcats on the draw.

12-7. DeVito scores what might be a back-breaker as she catches a feed on the left side off a free position from Wiederkehr at 17:12.

Wildcats win the draw.

13-7. Anderson scores on a free position and the Wildcats are starting to run away with it now. There's 16:31 to go.

14-7. Brosco scores on the free position and the Wildcats have doubled Carthage with 15:32 to go.

The Comets have pulled their goalie and it'll be McGuire in.

Carthage gets the draw, only its second of the second half.

14-8. Ferris scores on a feed from Deronda at 14:21. That's her seventh goal.

The Wildcats have outscored the Comets 6-2 in the second half.

SWR will call a time-out at 14:21.

Verbeeck makes her ninth save at 13:51.  She then makes a save on a low shot on the free position by Kempney.

15-8 DeVito scores on a free position feed from Newman, just like earlier when she connected with Wiederkehr. 12:39 to play.

Ferris gets a yellow card at 12:28.

16-8 DeLea scores unassisted at 12:12.

17-8 Brosco with a great shot inside the top-left corner at 11:58

17-9 Deronda scores at 11:41

Draw goes to SWR.

18-9. Anderson scores on the free position at 10:53 and that equals the most goals Carthage has allowed this season.

19-9 DeVito scores on a low roller after catching the feed in front from Brosco at 9:29. We're into running time.

Wiederkehr gets whistled for a yellow at 8:46.

Vlahakis has put in a lot of the bench players to get everyone some experience on the big stage.

19-10. Tiernan scores on a feed from behind the cage from Kamide at 6:11.

19-11. Kempney scores at 3:34

Verbeeck will take a seat for Sara Bates and leaves to a loud ovation from the SWR fans.

20-11. Corinne Wiederkehr scores her first on a feed from Caitlin King at 3:03

21-11 Gersbeck scores her first after the ball was initially saved but it bounced out of the goalie's stick and went in. This is the most goals they've scored this season.