The Bethlehem boys lacrosse team wanted nothing more than to beat Guilderland on Senior Day, but the Dutchmen were uncooperative.
Ian DiPace and Tony Stanish scored fourth-quarter goals to lead the Dutchmen to a 5-4 victory over the Eagles in Saturday’s Suburban Council South Division game in Delmar.
It was a hard-fought win against a team that was psyched up to play, said Guilderland coach Sean McConaghy.
The Dutchmen (6-1 league. 6-3 overall) had a difficult time shaking Bethlehem (3-3, 4-4). Every time Guilderland scored a goal through the first three quarters, Bethlehem responded with one of its own.
DiPace and Stanish changed that pattern in the fourth quarter. DiPace broke a 3-3 tie midway through the quarter by charging through the middle of the field and firing a shot past Bethlehem goaltender Theo Ferguson. A short time later, Stanish scored off a pass from Paul Jones to put the Dutchmen ahead by two goals ` the first time either team had such a cushion.
Eric Halek scored with less than three minutes left in regulation to pull Bethlehem within a goal, but a pair of penalties in the final two minutes thwarted any chance the Eagles had of completing the comeback.
`We were pushing at the end,` said Bethlehem coach Dave Rounds. `The offense could feel things weren’t happening for us, so we started taking some risks.`
Both goaltenders played well to keep the game low scoring. Ferguson stopped 12 shots for Bethlehem, while Sean Klim made seven saves for Guilderland.
`He had some huge saves for us,` McConaghy said of Klim, who’s been splitting the goaltending duties with Christian DePersis. `He’s been playing well, we think.`
It was Bethlehem’s third consecutive loss after a 4-1 start ` a stretch Rounds said the team owed more to its physical state than anything else.
`We’ve got some big injuries on offense right now,` said Rounds. `Some of them are trying to suck it [and play], but it hasn’t been the same.`
Bethlehem looked to get back to its winning ways Monday when it hosted Shaker in a Suburban Council game, while Guilderland hosted defending league champion Niskayuna.“
