Golden season continues for Section 4 Class B lacrosse champion Vestal

Onward move the Golden Bears of Vestal in this extraordinary season of lacrosse, spotless record intact through two elimination games and counting.

Thursday’s 11-8 success against Horseheads made for a 17-0 record and Section 4’s Class B championship. In fact, it extended the program’s string of sectional titles to a sixth year.

It was a 10-3 difference a minute into second-half play at Dick Hoover Stadium before the boys in blue got a little something going to inject a wee slice of doubt into the outcome. But the final margin was as close as the Blue Raiders would draw.

Next up

Vestal, No. 11 in New York State Sports Writers Association rankings – trailing 10 teams with losses – will host Section 3’s to-be-determined champion on June 1.

Protecting home field

The lone tie after 0-0 was broken when Vestal’s Xavier Shuler penetrated from the right side with too little resistance to give the Bears a 2-1 advantage with 5:28 remaining in the opening quarter – setting in motion a difference-making flurry of Vestal offense.

A mere seven seconds later, Tucker Zostant made a lengthy sprint into range to make good on an inviting opportunity and it was 3-1, a score that held through the quarter.

Next: Three straight for the hosts.

Braden McMahon converted Sammy Baek’s assist 1:14 into the second, Graham Sholett made it 5-1 27 seconds later and became 6-1 when Zostant was simply too strong and aggressive to be denied by two defenders with 7:56 to play in the second.

Then came a glimpse of The Sammy Show. Baek struck off a side-to-side feed from Sholett, converted again to make it 8-3 and stretched it to 9-3 by bouncing one home from 15 or so yards straightaway 63 seconds before halftime. The latter made for three goals by the All-American in a segment of 5:23.

“I thought Sammy played pretty well offensively,” said Vestal coach Chris Dutkowski. “I think in the first half he was really hitting the shots, he was getting some separation, getting his hands free and he’s a heck of a shooter when his hands are free. We needed him to have a game and he did.

“Tucker, he’s a little bit banged up but he played a heck of a game at the faceoff X, just scrapping and clawing. I think our defense played well, especially the second half. I know we were on defense a lot but they were working hard. Graham had a great game between the lines for us, he’s doing everything for us.

“ … Everyone made plays when we needed them to.”

More: Boys Lacrosse: All-Americans from Vestal, Elmira lead Section 4 all-stars

Horseheads kept grinding

After a disputed goal by Thomas Vallely – rung up only after a brief chat among officials – made it 10-3 with 58 seconds of the second half expired, Horseheads went full-blown into rally mode.

Cody Dale opened a three-goal Raiders response with 10:41 to play in the third and Zach Lese closed it from tight on the left wing to make it 10-6 with 8:42 to play in the period. A couple of critical saves from Vestal’s Camden Adams later, Shuler extended the advantage to 11-6, 4:03 before period’s conclusion.

From there, Vestal played wisely, patiently, to put away the victory against a quality opponent.

From Coach Dutkowski

“A little more interesting than we would have liked. We kind of ran into some situations where the ball was in our defensive half of the field in the second half a little more than we wanted it to be. We made a couple bad decisions on the offensive end that led to some short possessions so we were on defense a long time. Eventually they get worn down.

“Credit to Horseheads, they put up a heck of a fight. That’s a really good team and you make mistakes against them, they’ll make us pay – and they did. But we were able to close it out and finish strong.”

Describing the makeup of his unbeaten squad: “An extremely close-knit group of guys that have been playing together for a long time and they’ve had their ups and their downs and it’s taken them a few years as a team to hit that maturity when they make better decisions under pressure. But the team is led by a group of seniors that has been up here for a couple years now and they’ve seen the good and the bad, they understand the situations and they know how to handle it.”

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Vestal controls early, puts away stubborn Horseheads for title