The Niskayuna boys lacrosse team won its sixth consecutive Section II title, but not before meeting resistance from the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Spartans.
Guy Waltman scored four goals, and Matt Sexton added two goals and four assists to lead the Silver Warriors past the Spartans 14-4 in Tuesday’s Class B championship game at the University at Albany.
I’m just happy for the guys, said Niskayuna coach Mike Vorgang. `For me, it’s great to win another Sectional title. For some of these guys, it’s their fourth, and for others it’s their first.`
BH-BL (10-9) didn’t roll over for top-seeded Niskayuna (15-4), though. Goaltender Connor Nash stopped 17 of the 31 shots he faced, and the third-seeded Spartans played as physical as the Silver Warriors.
`We had a new defense out there, and I thought they buckled down and played great,` said Nash. `They only really allowed outside shots.`
`He’s an excellent goalie without a doubt, and I’m psyched that he got to show that tonight,` said BH-BL coach Tom Schwan. `It’s not just the 17 saves he had. He’s improved greatly in terms of communicating with his defense.`
Waltman got things going quickly for Niskayuna. The first two shots he took got past Nash to put the Silver Warriors ahead 2-0 less than three minutes into the game.
`It was just a motivational thing,` said Waltman. `We just wanted to come out fast and play hard.`
Nash settled down quickly, stopping three point-blank shots before Sexton scored off a pass by Justin McKinney with 5:07 left in the first quarter.
It wouldn’t be the last time that Sexton and McKinney teamed up to score a goal for Niskayuna. Three of the Silver Warriors’ next seven goals involved passes between Sexton and McKinney.
`With Mark Panneton being out [with an injury], Matt Sexton’s really stepped up for us,` said Vorgang.
Frank Emmer gave BH-BL a glimmer of hope when he scored with 3:43 left in the first quarter to pull the Spartans within 3-1. But goals by Lucas Maloney and McKinney late in the period put Niskayuna ahead 5-1.
Nash made three more saves to start the second quarter before Niskayuna struck for three goals to increase its lead to 8-1. BH-BL never got closer than six goals the rest of the way.
McKinney, Brian Schlansker and Colin Foster all added a pair of goals for the Silver Warriors, who advance to Saturday’s regional final.
Emmer tallied twice for BH-BL, with Evan Nusbaum and Anthony Lauria adding goals.“