Pine Bush girls roll past Newburgh, 16-1

By Mike Zummo
Posted 4/24/24

Sophia Licardi and Samantha Budney have one more chance for a Section 9 Class A championship and their senior girls’ lacrosse season is off to a good start.

The Pine Bush Bushmen won four …

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Pine Bush girls roll past Newburgh, 16-1

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Sophia Licardi and Samantha Budney have one more chance for a Section 9 Class A championship and their senior girls’ lacrosse season is off to a good start.

The Pine Bush Bushmen won four of six non-league games to start the season and opened their league schedule on April 16 with a 16-1 win over the Newburgh Free Academy Goldbacks at NFA North.

“I think we’re doing a really good job working with each other and moving the ball quickly,” Licardi said.

“We’re definitely using each other and people that don’t normally get an opportunity to get in there.”

The Bushmen were able to empty the bench due to a large lead they built early in the game. They scored five goals in the first quarter and added another four in the second to take a 9-0 lead at halftime.

Budney led the Bushmen’s offensive attack with four goals and an assist. Julia Tanner also had four goals and an assist. 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.

Overall, a team effort.

“We had talent from the beginning,” Budney said. “We just had to put it together.”

The Bushmen had been putting it together all season as they opened their season with six non-league games. They opened the season with wins over New Paltz and Carmel before suffering their first loss of the season to the Minisink Valley Warriors.

They rebounded with a win over the Saugerties Sawyers, before falling to the Warwick Wildcats. They haven’t lost two games in a row yet this season as they rebounded with a non-league win over the Our Lady of Lourdes Warriors.

“I think we can definitely win sections this year,” Licardi said. “We definitely have the talent to do it. We just all really need to want it and we need to put in the work to get there.”

The quest continued on Thursday with a 17-7 home win over the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders.

The Bushmen are no strangers to the Section 9 Class A championship game, having lost to the Kingston Tigers on their last several trips.

But this time, the Bushmen believe they can break through and will face an early test on Friday when they host the Tigers.

“Now, we’re getting into understanding how each other plays and what’s our strengths and weaknesses,” Licardi said. “We’re getting to be able to use each other and work with each other really well.”