Saratoga, BH-BL battle it out in high school lacrosse action.
Will Clark scores game-winner for BH-BL as defense keeps Saratoga at bay
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Coaches from Burnt Hills- Ballston Lake and Saratoga Springs both said Wednesday night’s Suburban Council boys lacrosse game wasn’t particularly well-played from a techni- cal standpoint.
However, had they said it wasn’t exciting, both would have been very, very wrong.
BH-BL prevailed, holding off stubborn Saratoga Springs 5-4 in a defensive struggle that saw the Blue Streaks come up empty on the game’s final possession.
“What I liked was that we played hard for 48 minutes,” BH-BL head coach Tom Schwan said. “That was the key tonight.”
“It was a hard- fought game, a physical game,” Saratoga Springs head coach Jon Warner said. “They made an extra play tonight.”
Neither team scored in the first quarter, but after Saratoga Springs ( 6- 7) opened the scoring 30 seconds into the second, Burnt Hills caught fire. The Spartans scored three straight before halftime to take a 3-1 lead at the break.
Saratoga Springs, though, fought back with two man-up goals by Evan Strock in the third stanza. That led to a pivotal play later in the quarter, as BH- BL ( 7- 7) longpole Logan Ball snuck a surprise shot past Saratoga Springs goalie Austin
Degener.
“To be honest, I don’t think any of us thought he was going to shoot the ball,” Schwan said. “I think that’s why it got by him.”
“There’s maybe one play that our goalie would like to have back,” Warner said. “He took a shot from the high right point. I think ( Degener) is there with his foot. His stick maybe could have gotten a touch lower, but those are shots kids are not used to seeing.”
Trevor Honis tied it up once again with 8:23 left in regulation, and overtime seemed like a distinct possibility. BH-BL freshman Will Clark, though, completed a hat trick with 5:48 to go with what would go down as the game- winning goal.
“In this game, the more left- handed players you have, the better you are,” Schwan said. “An attackman has two jobs: Put the ball in the cage and ride really hard. I thought Will did a great job.”
Saratoga wound up with one last chance to tie in the waning seconds. However, a long shot was saved by Spartans goalie Ian Reed, and the final horn sounded before either side could regain control of the ball.
Both 2013 meetings between these two teams were decided by a single goal. Saratoga Springs topped BH-BL 8-7 in their season opener, but slipped to 6- 7 with Wednesday’s tough-luck loss. The Blue Streaks don’t have long to rebound, as they return to action Friday against Class A power Shenendehowa.
“We love to play good teams,” Warner said. “We have to have our plan ready for Friday.
“We’ll be able to watch some tape. We know who their guys are, it’s a matter of finding the right matchups and making some plays offensively.”