BFA-St. Albans’ path back to redemption prepared them for history.
The roar of South Burlington’s home crowd in last year’s championship was neutralized. But had it not, it wouldn’t have mattered to the Comets.
A slow start didn’t knock them off their game and a perfectly executed strategy by Burr and Burton merely delayed the inevitable.
“They knew what to do, because we've been there before,” BFA coach Mary Pipes said.
The top-seeded Comets used that playoff experience to edge the No. 3Bulldogs 10-9 in the Division I girls lacrosse championship at Virtue Field on Friday night. For Pipes and BFA, it’s vindication and history in one 50-minute, wire-to-wire final as the Comets claimed the program's title.
“I think our key word here is ‘believe’ and we really just take that to heart,” BFA senior Loghan Hughes said. “Even if it's a tied game it’s just another chance for us to come back and prove ourselves.”
BBA’s strategyto keep the possession away from the Comets (15-2), who averaged 16 goals per game, worked in the first half. Guarding a 2-1 lead early in the opening stanza the Bulldogs (15-3) held possession for eight consecutive minutes and scored whenTatum Sands tucked in a shot in front of the net on an assist from Paige Samuelson.
“We've prepared for every team we play a certain way and that preparation is specific to that team,” Burr and Burton coach KenStefanaksaid. “I feel like possession-wise and especially the first half the execution was there except putting it into the bowl.”
Burr and Burton’s 16 shots in the first frame netted just four goals and, despite controlling the pace, the Bulldogs only held a 4-3 lead at halftime.
While the Comets had seven shots in the first half, each one was important as the last including Jodie Gratton’s tally that knotted the match 3-3 with 5:09 to play. Gratton, a junior, wrapped behind the net and into the crease for the goal.
Samuelson (one goal, four assists) scored with two minutes before the break to give Burr and Burton a slight lead. But, despite the advantage, BFA’s inspired play to weather BBA’s strategies carried into break.
“During that halftime there was definitely magic in the circle,” said Gratton, who scored three goals in the contest. “You could definitely feel it between each other. I was super excited going out in the second half because we just were all buzzing and definitely, definitely the second half was going to be special.”
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Gratton opened the scoring in the second half before BBA’s Brooke Weber (two goals, assist) gained a 5-4 advantage for the Bulldogs.
“For us really it was just keeping up that positivity,” Hughes said. “Once we light a spark, we’re really good at keeping it up.”
The spark of Sophie Zemianek’s second goal of the game and draw control victories midway through the second half pushed the possession game in favor of the Comets.
BFA ripped three goals in five minutes, including Allison Bushey’s (two goals) bouncing shot inside the attacking zone that gave the Comets their first lead since Hughes’ opening score. Hughes added the third goal to cap the sequence and gave BFA a 7-5 margin.
“The turning point was when we got three draw controls in a row, because they had won the draw almost every time,” Pipes said. “So when we did that it was an energizer for us.”
The Bulldogs called a timeout following the two-goal deficit. With 11:54 to play, Samuelson found a cutting Sands (game-high four goals), who cut the lead in half. And two minutes later, Annabelle Gray slid past Ayla Shea (seven saves) to wipe the advantage away.
“My girls are very used to coming from behind and tying games and they know exactly what I expect them to do,” Pipes said of the tied game with less than 10 minutes to play.
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BFA’s response: To win the possession that they desperately craved in the first half. And 35 seconds later, Gratton completed her hat-trick performance to give the Comets a lead they would not relinquish. Hughes, the program’s all-time leading scorer, added her final goal of her storied BFA career for a 9-7 lead.
Weber and Sands sandwiched goals between Bushey in the closing minutes.
“Last year when we were there and we choked completely, we came and we lost and they didn't want that to happen and they came to play their game this time,” Pipes said.
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Contact Jacob RousseauatJRousseau@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter: @ByJacobRousseau
