Leading off today: Sean Emerson tied the game with 2:12 to go in regulation and Tate Stewart scored midway through overtime as
Penn Yan defeated Cazenovia 11-10 on Wednesday to advance to the NYSPHSAA boys lacrosse championship game.
It was the teams' fourth straight showdown in the Class C semifinals. Cazenovia had won the previous three contests in 2013-15 by a combined seven goals.
"Sean and I have been on the team five years, and the last three years losing to Caz, coming in we were going to lay everything on the field and I'm happy we did," Mustangs senior Austin Fingar told the Democrat and Chronicle.
Penn Yan roared to an 8-2 lead in the first half only to see Cazenovia chip away in the third quarter and take a 10-9 lead with 7:08 left in the fourth quarter on a goal by Jake Lewis.
Emerson tied the contest and then Penn Yan rode out a long Cazenovia possession to take the game to OT.
Penn Yan turned the ball over midway through OT, but forced a subsequent ground ball and went on transition. Craig Gerhardt set up to the right of the cage and found Stewart breaking free in the slot for the winning shot.
Penn Yan's opponent in Saturday's Class C final will by Cold Spring Harbor, a 12-10 winner over Pleasantville.
The defending state champions got four goals from junior midfielder Taylor Strough.
"It's just ride or die, survive," midfielder Matt Licciardi told Newsday. "It's a long season and these boys have been through a lot, mentally tired, physically tired, but we're just going to push through it and there's just one more game. We might as well play our butts off."
Class B lacrosse: Jamesville-DeWitt senior attacker Grayson Burns tallied five times in a 13-9 triumph over Webster Thomas, including a third-quarter hat trick that helped break open the game.
"I didn't sleep much last night. It's nerves. You've only got one shot left. You just don't want to lose. You're just really waiting to get here. Once you're here, you're fine," Burns told Syracuse.com.
In the other semifinal, seven-time state champion Yorktown pulled off a 7-6 win vs. Shoreham-Wading River as Hunter Embury scored the Huskers' last three goals. Jamison Embury contributed a goal and three assists to the win.
"Those guys have been playing lacrosse since they could walk," Yorktown coach Dave Marr said of the sophomore brothers. "They are not the fastest, or the biggest. They just know how to play."
Class A lacrosse: T.D. Ierlan won 17 of 18 faceoffs, Victor held Corning to one goal through three quarters and the Blue Devils rolled to a 15-4 win over Corning to stay in the hunt for a second straight New York State Public High School Athletic Association crown. The Blue Devils, winners of 43 straight games, earned the Class B championship in 2015.
Ierlan won all 12 draws he took in the first half, creating
