Burnt Hills win title despite distractions
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. » Every athletic team faces adversity each season. It comes in the form of injuries, facing rivals and tough opponents and managing team chemistry.
With a dark cloud looming over the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake girls varsity lacrosse program heading into the Section II Class C finals, the Spartans found a silver lining and captured its second straight title with a 14-7 win over Albany Academy Thursday afternoon.
“This is my fourth sectional title in a row, many people don’t get that opportunity and to go out there and do it with my team that’s awesome and this one was for my dad (Jake
McHerron) and Coach Vos (Marylou Vosburgh),” Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake senior goalie Abbie McHerron said.
The Spartan star held onto the championship plaque with reverence, not only because it was her fourth straight title, two with Scotia- Glenville and the final two with Burnt Hills, but because of the absence of the varsity coaching staff.
Both Jake McHerron and Marylou Vosburgh were placed on administrative leave from the team just as the post-season got underway pending an investigation by the school district. Details were unavailable as it was deemed a ‘personnel matter’ and both Tuesday’s semifinal win and Thursday’s championship win came with Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake athletic director Joe Scalise acting as head coach.
“The first time we had a conversation with them, obviously there was a lot of emotion, they were going through a tough time,” Joe Scalise said. “I think they realized that they had to come together and that’s a way to get through it, but they did just a great job of coming together and putting things aside and focusing on what they’ve been focusing on all season long.”
While there was turmoil in the distance back on Route 50 on campus, the Spartans took care of business on the Mohonasen turf Thurs-
day afternoon turning a 7- 4 halftime lead into the 14-7 final and second straight Section II title.
Senior Lauren Hopsicker led the way for Burnt HillsBallston Lake with four goals and a pair of assists with Kate Walsh adding a trio of goals and an assist on the day with Allie Connally with the hat trick in the win.
“It feels awesome you know, winning two in a row with such a young team and they really stepped up,” Lauren Hopsicker said. “It was awesome.
“I think we really got off the draw quickly, we got those 50-50 balls in the second half, we really stepped it up.”
Burnt Hills controlled the offensive side of the contest, putting 21 shots on Albany Academy for Girls
goal keeper Sydney Christiansen, compared to the 14 by the Bears against Abbie McHerron and Anna Butler espite the adversity within the Spartans pro-
gram, Burnt Hills appeared at ease while Albany Academy was implored by its head coach, Greg Giombetti to relax and work on the fundamentals and game plan.
In the end, the depth and experience of the Spartans paid off.
“I think Albany Academy is a great team, they had really strong fast break that was very hard for us to stop and I give it to them, they fought until the last minute,” Abbie McHerron said
The sectional title was not new to most of the Burnt Hills lacrosse squad and Scalise has been on the sideline for the Spartans, enjoying the moments as an administrator, but this week and Thursday provided him a different look.
“It was definitely a little different, when you’re on the sideline you’re not in the game like you are as a coach, but these girls have been so resilient, they really put a lot of effort and time into this over the past week and all season long obviously,” Scalise said. “They had a goal of winning the sectional title and they went through a difficult week and they
came together as a team and really came out and performed today.”
As the perceived interim coach for the squad, Scalise had to rely on the young players to focus on their game plans, setting aside this month’s events.
“Watching them all season long and seeing how they’ve come and progressed, knowing that they’re really capable of really taking the lead and doing it,” Scalise said. “Our job as coaches is to get them prepared, but they go out there and perform.
“It was our job to kind of get them there and it was there job to go from there and close it out. They really came together. You really can’t say enough positive things about how well that they came together as a team over the past week. We’re really proud of them.”