Schenectady
Individual signs, balloons and all-around good cheer were prevalent for the Niskayuna girls' lacrosse team Thursday night as they awaited a Senior Night showdown against Shenendehowa at Frank Bailey Field. Once the contest began, the Lady Plainsmen snatched that joy away.
Shenendehowa scored quickly and pitched a first-half shutout against the Silver Warriors. By the time Niskayuna senior Peyton Reihs tallied her team's first goal, Shenendehowa had scored nine times.
In a contest unlike the team's first encounter in April (Niskayuna won 9-8), Shenendehowa dominated the first 30 minutes and cruised to a 12-5 Suburban Council victory.
The Lady Plainsmen (10-2 overall), coming off an 8-7 setback against Bethlehem on Tuesday, turned in a superlative opening 25 minutes. Shenendehowa scored seven goals and senior goalie Aislinn Sweeney made seven saves — including a pair on free-position chances by Sydney McPartlon. "I try to leave as little space as possible and give them a hard shot," Sweeney said. "I like it when they go low."
"In the first half, all the credit goes to Shen. They were the better team today and looked sharp," Niskayuna coach Jason Bach said. "They moved the ball really well, shot it well and we were flat. The emotion of the Senior Night was there, but no excuse. Shen was great."
In fact, the biggest bright spot for Niskayuna before halftime came prior to the game when senior defender Sydney Gushlaw sprinted from the field to the press box to perform the national anthem.
"It is always hard to play on Senior Night," Shenendehowa co-coach Jeanne Frevola said.
Once play began, Shen owned the night.
Olivia Howard scored the game's first goal 35 seconds into the action. McKenzie Ballard made it 2-0 when she deposited a shot on a free position...
