andrew legare, elmira star-gazette
·4 min read
Tucker Zostant's faceoff win and subsequent goal seven seconds into the second half started Vestal's comeback. All-American Sammy Baek finished the rally with the winning score with 8.1 seconds remaining.
The Golden Bears' 6-5 triumph over Section 3 champion West Genesee on Saturday gave them an 18-0 record, a regional title and a spot in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class B semifinals.
They will take on Section 5 champion Victor (17-3) at 5:30 p.m. June 5 at SUNY Cortland's White Field. Victor beat Niagara-Wheatfield, 16-4, in their quarterfinal Saturday. Vestal most recently made it to a state semifinal in 2019 after getting there in 2017.
"We’re going to enjoy this one," head coach Chris Dutkowsky said. "I think it’s one of the biggest wins we’ve had in program history, but we’ll be back to work tomorrow and we’ll be watching some film and drawing up our game plan and get to work on Monday."
Vestal overcame a 3-0 halftime deficit to keep its unbeaten season alive in front of an enthusiastic home crowd at Dick Hoover Stadium.
"I thought our defense played phenomenal," Dutkowsky said. "To hold that team to five goals, with the offensive firepower they have, was a phenomenal job. I thought coach (Scott) Faulkner, our defensive coordinator, had a phenomenal game plan and they all played great. Cam Adams played great in goal."
Braden McMahon scored a pair of goals less than two minutes apart to get Vestal even 3-3 with 57 seconds left in the third quarter. Baek followed with a go-ahead goal with 5.2 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Tom Vallely extended the Bears' run to five straight goals a minute into the fourth quarter.
"Our offense was due," Dutkowsky said. "We had a couple bad breaks. We hit the pipe a few times early. We’re not used to seeing a zero on the scoreboard after the first half. We just said hey, men, just keep going, be unselfish, keep moving the ball and eventually the shots will drop."
West Genesee's Charlie Lockwood answered with unassisted goals with 8:02 and 3:37 left to knot the score 5-5.
Vestal controlled the ball the remainder of the game. After calling a timeout with 41 seconds left, the ball ended up in Baek's stick and he made a run from behind the net before whipping a shot cleanly into the netting. Zostant, as he did much of the game, won the ensuing faceoff to run out the clock.
"They told us that we had to keep it in the box right after I called the timeout and they didn’t hear it," Dutkowsky said. "So we came out of that and we ended up having to keep the ball in the box area, which sort of changed up our plans a little bit and we had to adjust on the fly.
"Sammy wanted that ball at the end. I could see him go grab it and Tucker was going to get it. We were yelling at him to let him take it. He was due and he buried it. It was awesome."
Nolan Bellotti scored twice in the first half to help the Wildcats (15-4) go into halftime up 3-0. Nash Oudemool had the other first-half goal. Dutkowsky gave credit to West Genesee's defensive play, adding his team was holding the ball a bit too long in the first half and needed more movement to break down the Wildcats' defense.
Class A: Liverpool 9, Corning 5
Brady Michaud scored four goals to help Section 3 champion Liverpool to a win over Corning in the Class A regional final at Vestal.
Dominick Osbeck added three goals and an assist for Liverpool (10-9). Owen Michaud contributed two goals and three assists.
James Freeman scored two goals for Corning (10-8). Tully Fratarcangelo, Clayton Smith and Kohl Hogue also scored for the Hawks, who trailed 3-0 after one quarter.
Class C: Honeoye Falls-Lima 15, Johnson City 4
Section 5 champ Honeoye Falls-Lima led 14-0 at halftime in a victory over Johnson City in the Class C regional final at Maine-Endwell. Grady Goodberlet had four goals and two assists for HF-L (20-2).
Troeger Lombardini scored three times for JC (5-13).
More: Boys Lacrosse: All-Americans from Vestal, Elmira lead Section 4 all-stars
Class D: Aquinas 18, Chenango Valley 6
Jake Guggino and Tano Auriuso scored five goals apiece to lead Rochester Aquinas (17-5) past Chenango Valley in the Class D regional final at Maine-Endwell.
Nate Marinaro scored three times for Chenango Valley (14-5). Hiras Constantios, Ryan Wiley and Aiden Granger had one goal each.
Follow Andrew Legareon Twitter:@SGAndrewLegare.You can also reach him atalegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, pleasesubscribe or activate your digital account today
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: How Section 4 teams fared in NYSPHSAA boys lacrosse regional finals
