The Canton girls varsity lacrosse team’s second consecutive trip to the New York State Final Four has come to an end. The Golden Bears fell to Penn Yan 19-4 at SUNY Cortland on Friday afternoon.
Penn Yan dominated the faceoff circle, resulting in the majority of the scoring chances. Their speed in attack off the faceoff wins created defensive headaches for Canton throughout the contest.
Canton found some success in defending when they were able to stave off the initial attack, although unsettled situations also led to goals for the Mustangs.
Offensively, Canton struggled with the aggressive nature of Penn Yan’s defenders. Canton’s senior midfielder Saige Blevins was consistently double teamed, forcing others to find opportunities.
Senior Olivia Francey was able to break Canton’s scoreless drought as she drove from behind the net to put Canton on the board with a minute left in the first quarter.
Penn Yan scored three goals early in the second quarter to extend their lead from 8-1 after the first, to 11-1. This 10-goal lead triggers a running clock. The Mustangs managed three more goals after the time began to run.
Canton mustered two goals in the third quarter, the first on a nice individual effort from Blevins. Francey notched her second of the game, again coming from behind the cage after an errant shot triggered a restart.
Francey added one more in the fourth quarter for Canton on a free position.
Canton’s short bench was an issue throughout the game, as the conditioning and speed of the Mustangs proved hard to match for the Golden Bears, though not for a lack of effort.
Penn Yan awaits the winner of the other Class D semifinal between Cold Spring Harbor and Pleasantville. The title game will be played Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
