Kayla Treanor didn’t look at the clock. She only looked at the goal.
Then, she unleashed a shot that gave her Niskayuna Silver Warriors the Section II Class A girls lacrosse title.
Treanor scored the go-ahead goal with 2:42 left in regulation to help Niskayuna defeat Guilderland 15-14 in Wednesday’s championship game at the University at Albany.
I didn’t even realize that there was that much time left, said Treanor, who finished with five goals and three assists. `I just felt that I had to go, and I just wanted to finish my shot.`
The game between the four-time defending Class A (Guilderland) and Class B champions (Niskayuna) lived up to the hype that preceeded it. There were four lead changes and eight ties, and neither team led by more than three goals.
`It was a great game to watch,` said Guilderland coach Gary Chatnik. `Both teams answered each other.`
The moment that shifted the momentum in Niskayuna’s favor happened a short time prior to Treanor’s game-winning goal. With the score tied at 14, Guilderland’s Kendall Cietek was awarded an 8-meter free position shot, but Niskayuna goaltender Austen Radcliff made the save — her 15th of the game.
`Austen played phenomenal,` Niskayuna coach Pete Melito said of Radcliff. `She’s a player who has grown so much over the last two months.`
The Silver Warriors (15-4) cleared the ball off Radcliff’s save and got it to the other end of the field, where Treanor charged in and shot the ball over Guilderland goalie Jess Madsen’s shoulder.
Niskayuna then made sure Guilderland (18-2) would not get another chance to tie the game. Treanor won the ensuing draw control, and the Silver Warriors successfully kept the ball in Guilderland’s half of the field for the remaining time.
`We worked on that all week,` said Melito. `We’d set the clock and practice different situations, and practice paid off.`
`For us to hold on to the ball that long is incredible,` said Treanor.
Niskayuna got the early jump on Guilderland. Treanor scored 2:34 into the first half and then assisted on Emily Ryan’s goal 15 seconds later to put the Silver Warriors ahead 2-0.
Guilderland found Radcliff’s weakness shortly thereafter — coming around from behind the goal and shooting the ball. Cietek and Morgan Hardt both pulled off the move during a 3-0 Lady Dutch run that put Guilderland ahead by a goal.
Treanor scored to tie the game at 3 and had a chance to put Niskayuna ahead by a goal a short time later, but Madsen stopped Treanor’s free-position shot. That save — coupled with a pair of Erin Mossop goals — sparked another 3-0 Guilderland run that gave the Lady Dutch a 6-3 advantage.
Niskayuna closed the gap to 7-6 by halftime and gained the lead again with two quick goals to start the second half. Ryan led the charge with two goals, while Treanor contributed a goal and an assist during the 5-1 Silver Warrior spurt.
The game settled into a pattern where Guilderland would tie the score, only to see Niskayuna re-take the lead. The pattern finally changed midway through the second half when Radcliff stopped Shelby Iapoce’s free-position shot, and Caleigh O’Brien scored at the other end to give the Silver Warriors a 12-10 advantage.
Niskayuna’s lead wavered between one and two goals until Mossop tied the game at 13 for Guilderland with 7:49 left. Two minutes later, Iapoce weaved her way through the Niskayuna defense and shot the ball past Radcliff to give the Lady Dutch a 14-13 lead.
Ritchie Assini answered for Niskayuna by taking a pass from Kelly Schlansker and stuffing the ball past Madsen with 5:01 left. The score remained tied at 14 until Treanor made her move through the Guilderland defense and scored.
Assini contributed four goals, and Ryan added a hat trick for Niskayuna, which advances to next week’s Class A regional semifinal against the Section IX champion at UAlbany.
Mossop tallied five times, Iapoce chipped in with three goals and Kelly Camardo added a pair of goals for Guilderland, which saw its 80-game Section II winning streak end.
`We never talked about the win streak,` said Chatnik. `We wanted to win the championship just like Niskayuna or anyone else. We just didn’t come out on the winning end this time.`
In other Sectional championship action Wednesday, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake held on for a 12-10 victory over Queensbury in the Class B final.
Becky Guess and Nicole Beardsley each scored three goals and added two assists to help BH-BL (9-10) win its first Sectional title since becoming a varsity program six years ago. Amy LeBel and Catherine Clark each added two goals, and goaltender Kelsey McDonald made 12 saves.
BH-BL returns to UAlbany next Wednesday to play the Section IX Class B champion in the regional round.“
