The Shaker girls lacrosse team registered a historic victory last week.
The Lady Bison built a 6-3 half-time lead and held on for an 11-9 Suburban Council win against Bethlehem Friday at Union College.
It was the first time in nearly a decade that Shaker had beaten Bethlehem, which has won the last eight Section II championships.
That was a pivotal game for us this season, said Shaker coach Carrie Britt. `We made beating Bethlehem a goal this year.`
The Lady Bison (3-2 league, 3-3 overall) led by scores of 4-0 and 10-5 before Bethlehem rallied late in the second half.
`We knew that if we had let up for one second, that game could have gone the other way,` said Britt. `So we knew we had to play the second half even harder than the first half, which we did.`
Abi Rehfuss led the Shaker attack with three goals and two assists. Devan DalCol also notched a hat trick, while Lexi DalCol and Katherine Thomas each added two goals.
`You have seven players up front, and there aren’t any teams whose seven defenders can match up with my seven players on attack,` said Britt.
The victory highlighted a good week for the Lady Bison. Two days earlier, they defeated Shenendehowa 16-8 behind four-goal performances from Thomas, Lexi DalCol and Caroline Rehfuss. They also beat Niskayuna 11-8 April 9, with Lexi DalCol leading the attack with six goals. Their lone loss was a 14-6 setback against Section I power Yorktown Saturday.
`I have a very talented group of players who are playing very well together,` said Britt.
The Lady Bison have another tough non-league game ahead of them this week when they visit CBA of Syracuse Friday.“