Two big scoring bursts and some timely saves were all that the Niskayuna boys lacrosse team needed to win its third consecutive Section II, Class A title.
Steve D’Amario and Nick DiSarro each recorded hat tricks, and James Manchester made several key saves in the fourth quarter to help the Silver Warriors beat Guilderland 11-9 in Friday’s championship game at RPI’s Ned Harkness Field.
I think it was really important (to win this title), said Niskayuna coach Mike Vorgang. `We only had a few guys coming back who played a lot last year, so we needed some of the newer players to step up.`
Manchester stepped up when he needed to in the Sectional finals. The junior stopped two Guilderland shots in the final 1:15 to preserve Niskayuna’s two-goal lead.
It was the first championship game for Manchester, who replaced five-year starter Noah Fossner this season. Fossner guided Niskayuna to four consecutive Sectional finals appearances and two titles before graduating last year.
`It’s a tough situation to be in ` No. 1 to be a goalie, and No. 2 to replace the best goalie in the program’s history,` said Vorgang. `He did a great job of listening to what the coaches said, not what everyone else said.`
`They’re big shoes to fill, but I don’t try to think about it too much,` said Manchester, who finished with 12 saves against Guilderland.
Manchester and the Silver Warriors (17-4) got off to a shaky start. Uriah Myrie scored two quick goals early in the first quarter, and Rory Nunamacher added a goal to give Guilderland (16-5) a 3-0 lead and cause Vorgang to call a timeout.
`I just told them that everything’s OK. We just weathered the storm,` said Vorgang.
Niskayuna’s offense roared to life after that. D’Amario got things going with a goal, and then Ben Romer converted a pass from Jack Leary off a restart into a quick tally to pull the Silver Warriors within a goal. D’Amario added a goal just before the end of the first quarter to tie the game at 3.
The momentum carried over into the second quarter. Steve Lefebvre gave Niskayuna a 4-3 lead early in the period, and D’Amario and DiSarro expanded it to 6-3 with two more goals.
Nunamacher got Guilderland back within a goal with two tallies, but Romer, DiSarro and Rob Prendergast scored in the final six minutes to put Niskayuna up 9-5 at halftime. The Silver Warriors added two man-advantage goals in the first five minutes of the third quarter to build an 11-5 lead.
`We’ve got some pretty intelligent offensive players, and they make space for each other,` said Vorgang. `They shot the ball well, too.`
Nunamacher did his best to rally Guilderland. The sophomore midfielder scored three of his team’s final four goals to finish with a game-high six tallies.
`I thought he was our best midfielder all year but he didn’t have a game like this before,` said Guilderland coach Sean McConaghy.
Romer contributed two goals, and Seth Berggren added a goal and an assist for Niskayuna, which lost to Yorktown (Section I) 6-5 in Tuesday’s regional.“
