Friday, June 8, 2018: Mattituck/Southold hangs on for semifinal win

   Leading off today: Claudia Hoeg made a point-blank save to deny an open shooter with 2.5 seconds remaining and preserve Mattituck/Southold's 7-6 victory over South Jefferson in a NYSPHSAA girls Class D lacrosse semifinal Friday at SUNY Cortland.

   The last-chance heroics advances the Tuckers to Saturday's championship game against Bronxville.

   "There were no defenders nearby so it was a little nerve-wracking (but) I just had to remain calm," said Hoeg, who made six saves. "It was a low shot and they were doing that throughout the game, so I was hoping it would be in that location. I just got my stick down and hoped for the best."

   Midfielder Chelsea Marlborough (two goals, two assists) scored with 11:13 remaining to put Mattituck/Southold ahead 7-5.

   "I remember turning around and seeing the two-on-one with Claudia," Marlborough said. "Everyone was huddled around Claudia. I couldn't see if it's a save or not, then Claudia stands up with the ball. I thought to myself, 'We made it, we made it!'"

   Mattituck/Southold had a goal disallowed with 3:04 left due to an illegal stick but still led by two until South Jefferson's Sydney Roderick scored with 1:53 left. Jane DiGregorio won the ensuing draw for Mattituck/Southold and the Tuckers brought the clock down to 15.4 seconds before South Jefferson forced a turnover to set up its final possession.

   Bronxville advanced with a 14-5 win over Palmyra-Macedon as Victoria Ruffo scored five goals and Allie Berkery and Fiona Jones each contributed hat tricks. The Broncos, who fell in double overtime in last year's final after beating Mattituck/Southold a day earlier, jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back.

   Section 5 advances three: A trio of Rochester-area schools won semifinals Friday:

    • Penfield edged North Rockland 9-8 in Class A as junior attack Morgan Cox scored a free-position goal with 1:53 to go in overtime. The game-winner gave the Patriots their only lead of the contest.

   Cox finished with four goals and an assist.

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   Penfield played two girls down with more than five minutes remaining in regulation after accruing its fourth and fifth yellow cards, but the Patriots outscored the Raiders 3-1 while shorthanded.

    • Brighton rolled past John Jay Cross River 17-7 in Class B as Katie Smolensky had five goals and an assist. Katie Lederman added three goals and three assists for the Barons.

   Brighton outscored JJCR 9-1 in the second half.

    • In Class C, Honeoye Falls-Lima rallied from two goals down in the second half and defeated Brewster 10-9.

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   Senior Kierin Ratliff led the Cougars with four goals and an assist. Paige Smith's eight-meter goal, one of the Cougars' three free-position goals, with 6:08 to go was the game winner.

   HF-L is just 8-12 this season, but the record is distorted by a heavy dose of losses to Class A and B teams in the Monroe County League.

   "We play in a very competitive league that prepares us for these moments and very competitive non-league (games)," coach Kevin O'Connell said. "We were prepared. We were not caught up in those losses. You learn a lot more in defeat. We learned character and how to respond today."

   More semifinals: Syracuse CBA ran off five straight goals in a six-minute span late in the second half and defeated West Islip 13-8 to set up a Class A final vs. Penfield.

   Senior Grace Hulslander led the way with a five-goal, two-assist effort. Senior Olivia Penoyer had three goals and an assist. Junior goalkeeper Iris Vinal made 10 stops in the cage.

   "We stayed disciplined, played like we know how, and I think it just came down to that," Hulslander said.

    • Shea Garcia had five goals and an assist to lead Manhasset past Fayetteville-Manlius 14-8 in Class B to get back to the final for the first time since 2014.

   Manhasset fell behind 2-0 just over six minutes into the game but responded with five straight goals on the way to a 6-3 advantage at the half. Garcia scored 14 seconds into the second half to extend the lead to 7-3.

    • In Class C, Cold Spring Harbor used hat tricks from Sophia DeRosa, Nicole Mormile and Emily Weld to beat Jamesville-DeWitt 16-8.

   Caroline Walter scored with 14:51 left in the first half to start an 8-0 run that Weld capped with a free-position goal with 3:11 left before halftime.

   "That's been us all season. No heroes, not one person putting anybody on their back," coach Danielle Castellane said. "We just have the manpower on offense, and it's amazing to have seven people out there you can trust to get the job done and share the ball."