For the Guilderland girls lacrosse team, Thursday’s 15-8 victory over Shaker in the Section II Class A final ended three years of frustration.
For Shaker, the frustration may last into next season.
Morgan Hardt scored five goals, and Rebecca Golderman contributed four goals to lead Guilderland (16-1) to its first Sectional title since 2010. The Lady Dutch lost the 2011 and 2012 finals, each by one goal.
`The past two years, they are what they are,` said Hardt. `We put them as a chip on our shoulders.`
`I had no doubt in my mind it was going to be a back-and-forth game, and it was,` said Guilderland coach Gary Chatnik. `Theyre a good team.`
Shaker coach Kara DePaula had no problem admitting Guilderland deserved to win the game. What she had a problem with was the officiating, as her Blue Bison (15-2) were given three yellow cards.
`I don’t like to blame the refs, but it was really a one-sided game from the beginning,` said DePaula. `We couldn’t get a call for anything to save our lives. Do I think (Guilderland) should have won the game? I do. I just think they should have let us play the way we wanted to.`
The turning point came at the end of the first half with Guilderland leading 8-4. Shaker’s Madeline Devine tried to get a shot off before the halftime horn, but she wound up colliding with a Guilderland player after the horn sounded. Devine was given her second yellow card of the evening and was disqualified from the game.
`It should have been a shooting space call first,` said DePaula. `They called her for a dangerous shot, but I think it should have been a shooting space call because she didn’t have any space to shoot.`
The Lady Dutch started the second half with a two-minute man advantage, and they capitalized with goals by Golderman and Hardt. Shaker’s Julia Lennon scored twice to close the deficit to 10-6, but Guilderland went on a 5-1 run over the next nine minutes to pull away for good.
`We really converted well, and when we had the opportunities, we took them,` said Hardt.
`Our assists were just as important (as our goals),` said Chatnik. `We moved the ball around very well right from the first draw.`
Guilderland advances to next Wednesday’s regional game at Pine Bush High School, while Shaker looks ahead to next season when it will have all but three starters returning.
