By BOB CHAVEZ
GENEVA — It took 15 minutes and 29 seconds for Penn Yan to score its first goal.
But the rally that it eventually sparked will provide memories that will know no clock or time limit.
The Mustangs are state champions for the first time since 2001 with an 11-8 win over a pesky Chenango Forks team that was playing in a state final for the second time.
Forks opened with a crisp offense that kept the ball moving and a zone defense that frustrated the Mustangs and limited their looks. And it was a 3-0 lead for before Penn Yan’s Teagan Fingar found the net with 5:36 left in the second quarter.
And even after Fingar scored again just 17 seconds later, the struggles continued for Penn Yan. Shot clock urgency and a packed zone forced poor shots and passes that were off the mark. Even when the Mustangs found room to shoot, Forks goalie Lucas Bartlow was there for the stop.
Meanwhile, the sharp offense repaid the stout defense with goals. The Blue Devils got goals from Wyatt Stasik and Joey O’Connor to finish the first half.
“We struggled with that zone for the first two-and-a-half quarters,” Penn Yan coach Brian Hobart said. “But we finally got our transition game going … We’re like Bruce Springsteen, we were born to run.”
Forks opened the third with a goal from Bauer Maus, his third of the game, and just more than two minutes later, the Mustangs broke free. In the span of 5:13, they scored 5 unanswered goals to take a 7-6 lead. Fingar scored three of those goals and Tukker Fisher scored the other two.
“At halftime, we told ourselves this was the last 24 minutes we’d get to play with each other,” Fingar said. “So I took it personally.”
Hobart pointed to the leadership of Fingar as key. Even with a broken finger, a tweaked hamstring and a sore knee.
“He put on the performance of a lifetime,” Hobart said of Fingar. “He’s the undisputed leader of this team. He put us on his back and we went for a ride.”
Forks tied the score 7-7 late in the third but Penn Yan outscored Fork 3-1 with two more goals from Fingar to clinch the title.
“We got tired,” Forks coach Dave Pavlick said. “We adjusted our zone and dug a little deeper on the bench but we had some late slides and it worked for (Penn Yan).”
That was something Fingar noticed, which is why he pushed himself a little wider on the wing.
“The zone rotated and it opened everything up,” he said.
As for Hobart and the Mustangs, the proud lacrosse tradition adds even more hardware to an always-expanding trophy case.
“I’m pretty damn happy,” Hobart said. “These kids just showed us all how tough they are. Down 6-2, they battled and they’re one of the toughest group of kids I’ve been around.”
Maus led Chenango Forks (14-4) with 4 goals and an assist, goalie Bartlow made 15 saves.
For Penn Yan (21-2), Fingar led the way with 7 goals and 2 assists and Fisher and Braden Fingar each scored two goals while goalie Will Thompson made 14 saves and freshman Greyson Hathway won 17 of 23 faceoffs.
Leave a Reply