SEE MORE PHOTOS BY CHRIS CECERE HERE
By TIM IRVING
Canandaigua and Victor girls lacrosse saw plenty of each other over the last year. The Braves won the Class B Sectional title 9-7 but the Blue Devils beat Canandaigua in the National Tournament in Connecticut.
Early in May, Victor won the regular season game between the schools, 6-2.
“They know us, we know them, it’s just a fun rivalry and it’s always a gritty game,” Victor coach Niki Frunzi said after the Blue Devils won the Class B title, 9-5 over the Braves.
Libby Boland got the Blue Devils on the board as Olivia Bruno found her cutting out front.
Senior Abbey Herod, the top draw specialist in the Section this season, scored on an 8m chance to tie the game.
Devin Livingston answered from the 8m to answer and trigger a three-goal run for Victor.
Amber DeRosa hit Eva Pronti in front and the Duke signee buried the shot from out front.
Maddie Mabbett then scored from the left wing and a 4-1 lead.
“We knew we had to keep working, keep grinding and keep going because they could come back, they’re a good team,” Pronti said.
The Braves did mount a comeback as Liv Schorr scored twice.
Pronti’s second goal left a 5-3 lead at the half but despite the fact the Livingston was holding her own against the Boston College-bound Herod on the draws, Victor knew they had to slow it down.
“They are super talented on the draw so our plan was to stick with them on draw and the rest of the plan came from the previous part of our season,” Frunzi said.
Canandaigua closed to within a goal when Herod fed Nola Weaver to cut the lead to 6-5.
The Blue Devils worked the ball around and Livingston scored for a 7-5 lead.
Knowing that Herod and Schorr were connecting on the draw controls, Victor went into a stall tactic and killed four minutes off the clock. When goalie Kennedy Schottland made a save at the other end, the Blue Devils forced the Braves to pull goalie Maggie Cross and tacked on two goals in the process.
With the pandemic wiping out 2020 and the Braves taking the 2021 block, this was a long-awaited celebration for the second ranked team in the Nation.
“They’ve been dreaming of this day since I’ve known them in fifth grade, it’s been on their radar for years now,” Frunzi said. Pronti added, “I’m in complete shock right now, it’s been an amazing run with these girls, we’re all best friends and this is what we’ve worked for.”
All-Tournament
Eva Pronti Victor MVP
Devin Livingston Victor
Grace Callahan Victor
Abbey Herod Canandaigua
Liv Schorr Canandaigua
Maeve Brennan Irondequoit
Alexis Atwater Brighton
The Far West Regionals for girls lacrosse are Saturday at Pittsford Sutherland High School.
Leave a Reply