Buckley vs. Collegiate
The Buckley Varsity Lacrosse team finished the league portion of their schedule this afternoon when they stepped onto a misty, slick Randall's Island field to play Collegiate.
In less than ideal conditions, the team got off to a dubious start, losing the ground ball battle and failing to execute their offense. Luckily for the Blue Demons, starting goaltender Oliver Senbahar played one of his best quarters of the season, making four saves to keep his team in the game.
In the second quarter, Buckley settled down a bit on offense and was able to generate some great looks at the net. Unfortunately, the team could not find a way past the Collegiate goalie, his magnetic legs and (Buckley's biggest enemy on the day) the goalposts. To make matters worse, a flukey, deflected ball then snuck its way into the Buckley goal, and the Blue Demons found themselves down 1-0. But luck would finally change for the blue and white, when Gage Spolansky (only recently off the injured reserve list) found Addison Davenport in space, whose canon from ten feet nearly burned a hole in the net.
With the score tied 1-1, Buckley took the field in the second half, hoping to convert more of their chances and put the game to bed. Things began brightly, when Griffin Spolansky found the back of the cage after a sweeping solo run, but the Blue Demons' iron nemesis would rear her ugly head once again, denying shot after shot and holding Buckley to just two goals in regulation. After killing a two-man Collegiate advantage, the team was content to hold out for the 2-1 win. But the drama-bug struck once again in the final seconds, and a fadeaway jump-shot from a desperate orange player tied the game 2-2 as the final whistle blew.
Perhaps reading of Buckley's love for late-game drama in the scouting report, Collegiate (the home team) opted to play two short halves of overtime without golden goal. After the quick reflexes of Griffin Spolansky won the opening face-off, William Truesdell found a cutting Davenport, who scored his second of the game to put Buckley up 3-2. Denied the sweet euphoria of "sudden victory," the Blue Demons had to settle down quickly and play a few more minutes of shutout lacrosse. And they did exactly that, denying Collegiate any real scoring opportunities on the way to a great league win.
Senbahar had another solid performance in net, finishing the day with five saves. The team hit the goalpost an astounding six times during the game, meaning they were half a foot wide of an 8-2 game.
With the win over Collegiate, Buckley finishes the league with a record of 4-2 and a likely third-place finish behind St. David's and St. Bernard's – a great result for this young team!
The Blue Demons (4-4) play their final game at Kellenberg on Thursday with a winning record on the line!
