By Mike Zummo
The Newburgh Free Academy girls’ lacrosse team opened last week with their first win of the season.
However, they couldn’t get the momentum going on April 16 when they were stopped cold by the Pine Bush Bushmen, 15-1, at NFA North.
Samantha Budney led the Bushmen’s offensive attack with four goals and an assist. Julia Tanner also had four goals and an assist. Sophia Licardi had three goals and one assist and Fiona Varley had two goals and an assist. Katie Cragan had one goal and three assists, while Mackenzie Brown had a goal and an assist.
Aishwarya Dias scored the Goldbacks’ lone goal with 6:59 remaining in the third quarter.
The Goldbacks fell behind early as the Bushmen got first-quarter goals from Licardi, Brown, two from Tanner, one from Cragan. Budney and Licardi scored two goals each in the second quarter to take a 9-0 lead at halftime.
Dias’ goal with 6:59 remaining in the third quarter got the Goldbacks on the board before goals by Varley and Tanner set the game to a running clock.
The Goldbacks opened the week on the opposite end of a blowout as they routed the Wallkill Panthers, 14-4 in a non-league game on April 15.
They finished the week on Thursday with a 15-2 loss to the Valley Central Vikings.
Brianna McPhillips and Rebecca Sibley had four goals each and one assist each to lead the Vikings. Riley Kinsley had two goals and an assist and Ally Rivera scored two goals. Ava Ronaldson and Hannah Stahl each had one goal and two assists. Emily Malone scored a goal and Chloe Santangelo had an assist.
Senior goalkeeper Madison Roszkowski made one save.
The Vikings built a 12-0 lead over the course of the first quarter, setting the clock to run continuously about halfway through the second quarter.
The Goldbacks got on the board in the third quarter on a goal by Tina Wang. Madison Foti added a goal to cut the Vikings’ lead to 10 goals.
McPhillips scored her last two goals in the fourth quarter and Kinsley added another.
The Goldbacks are scheduled to play two non-league games this week, the first of five straight before returning to Division I action on May 7 with a road game against the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders.