PB girls beaten in Section 9 lacrosse final

By Mike Zummo
Posted 5/31/23

Whenever the Pine Bush girls’ lacrosse team reaches the Section 9 Class A championship game, the Kingston Tigers are waiting for them, ready to end their season.

They did so for the second …

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PB girls beaten in Section 9 lacrosse final

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Whenever the Pine Bush girls’ lacrosse team reaches the Section 9 Class A championship game, the Kingston Tigers are waiting for them, ready to end their season.

They did so for the second straight year on Thursday, beating the third-seeded Bushmen, 17-7, at James I. O’Neill High School in Highland Falls.

“The first half was a killer, a three-goal game at halftime,” Pine Bush coach Caitlin Murphy said.

“Unfortunately, they just took it and ran with it. In the end, our turnovers, I think, got the best of us today.”

The Bushmen were at their best in the first half, even after the Tigers got off to a 4-0. Pine Bush responded with two goals of their own to cut the lead in half. The teams traded goals until the Bushmen scored two in the space of two minutes to pull to within a goal, 6-5.

Two late goals pushed the Kingston lead out to 9-6 at halftime, and then they scored three straight goals to take a 12-6 lead. The Bushmen only managed one goal in the second half.

Samantha Budney, Kathryn Cragan and Fiona Varley had two goals each for the Bushmen. Lillian Atria scored once.

The Bushmen advanced to the championship game with a 10-9 win over No. 2 Monroe-Woodbury.

But to make their championship climb even more challenging, the Bushmen had been playing for the last several weeks without Sophia Licardi, who has been out with a knee injury.

She scored her 100th career goal earlier in the season.

“She builds a lot of team rapport, and her energy is contagious,” Murphy said. “We’ve been fighting through it the entire season, but I’m excited to have her next season.”

The Bushmen are young, but will lose three seniors to graduation: Marie Cerniglia, Tiffany Hoffman and Julia Corin.

“Tiff was amazing,” Murphy said. “She was the addition we didn’t even know we needed. She was the goalie and killed it in the back end. Julia set the tone for the season as an attacker and a midfielder. Then, we had Marie in the backend, who showed tremendous improvement over the course of the season. We’ll miss them a lot.”

But that leaves most of the roster expected back in 2024, as they look to advance to a third straight title game. With Licardi back in the lineup and a little more experience, Pine Bush will look to turn their sectional story around.

“I hope they remember this moment,” Murphy said. “They worked their butts off leading up to this, but they fell a little short today. We’re young. A lot of people haven’t been on the varsity team yet. So, I hope it’s a learning experience for them and we come out next year even harder.”