Final exam for Chenango Forks: Class D lacrosse title game Saturday vs. Cold Spring Harbor
The fellas from Chenango Forks checked off another item on their to-do list Wednesday— emphatically, at that.
They were virtually unstoppable in a 17-goal first half — uh-huh, 17! — of a 20-13 Class D state lacrosse semifinal victory against Erie County foe Akron at SUNY Cortland. Ahead comes the program’s first crack at a state championship game, 10 a.m. Saturday at Hofstra University, with Cold Spring Harbor opposing.
Grade A-plus work by the Blue Devils’ faceoff men was the root of opportunity-after-opportunity on an afternoon Forks improved to a 19-2 record, dropping Akron to 15-4.
And to think, Forks trailed 10 seconds into the contest.
“They scored first, we had to bounce back from that goal, and we did,” said Zander Arnold, who secured 15 of 21 faceoffs. “We moved the ball, got back-to-back goals and just kept going from there.”
And how.
A 2-2 game gave way to 9-3 after a quarter and 17-6 midway through. Along the way came stretches of seven and six successive Forks goals, Akron having no answer particularly for big boy Tyler Hayes. Matters grew a bit untidy for Forks in an inconsequential final quarter— mere fodder for coaches to grab the boys’ attention come prep time for the final.
Devils dominant early
The lead was Forks’ for keeps once Colby Fendick assisted Hayes on a bang-bang play with 3:22 elapsed, marking the second of a seven-goal Blue Devils spree. Hayes made it 4-2 nine seconds later, Arnold bumped it to 5-2 by winning a faceoff and zipping to the goal 11 seconds after that. By the time Caden Olmstead went low for an unassisted strike with 2:46 remaining in the opening quarter, the Devils held a 9-3 advantage.
Next came five consecutive Forks goals across the first 6:18 of the second quarter.
Setting that put-away segment in motion was Olmstead’s 100th goal of the season and one of three he’d convert in a span of 4:38. Arnold sent one home to make it 14-3 just over midway through the period.
“It was electric,” was how Olmstead described the first half. “Starting off with our faceoff guys, they killed it at the ‘X’. They were getting us the ball. Tyler Hayes, good buddy of mine, was killing it. It started opening up shots for me as well. I couldn’t thank our faceoff guys enough for getting us the ball so that we could bury these kids early.”
Rick Attleson won five of six faceoffs and David Hogan one of three, making for a hugely difference-making 21-for-30 for the Blue Devils.
The final goal of the first half was a microcosm of those 24 minutes. Arnold won yet another faceoff, sped ahead and fed Hayes for an on-target offering— seven seconds after Hayes penetrated the defense for a bulls-eye bouncer.
“Our coach said from the beginning, if we could just win the faceoffs we could bury them quick,” Olmstead said. “We’ve faced better defenses in the past, we were coming into this game prepared, confident. We just had to execute and we did.”
Not to be lost in Chenango Forks’ showing was the play of freshman goaltender Lucas Bartlow, particularly through the first three quarters.
The champion from Section 6 had big-time difficulties against an aggressive, active and pestering Forks defense, leaving the Tigers in tentative mode as often as not. When they did spring free for a look, Bartlow’s vision and reflexes warded off chances time and again.
Matters to tend to
Olmstead’s final goal, assisted by Arnold off an Akron giveaway in the danger zone, came with 5:10 to play in the third quarter and made it 19-6. Thereafter, the Blue Devils were outscored 7-1 through the conclusion.
Fine and dandy, the victory was a foregone conclusion, but presumably no such lapse will be acceptable if the Blue Devils are to become Section 4’s second state lacrosse champion. Coach Bob Streeten’s 1990 Corning East squad holds that solo distinction.
“We’re constantly preaching, you’ve got to play 48 minutes. If we want to win that game on Saturday, we’re going to have to put a lot better 48 minutes together,” said Forks coach Dave Pavlick. “That last part of the fourth quarter was just real sloppy. It gives us a lot of teaching points in the film session.”
What else they were saying
Pavlick, on Forks’ overwhelming first-half play: “We knew we were going have to come out and take it to them. We gave up the first goal, which is always tough. A little bit of jitters, which is fine. Once we sorted it out and understood they were going to do exactly what we prepared for, we settled in and good things happened.
“We took it to them.”
Arnold, asked if his team detected a sense of deflation from Akron’s players when matters grew one-sided: “We noticed that, but we just kept our heads in the game, kept going, pushing the ball, cutting— doing all the things we’ve been taught to do and practice doing.”
Of the program’s first-time go at a state final?
Arnold: “It’s amazing. Doing it with these guys is absolutely spectacular. It’s hard to put into words how happy I am to do it with this team”
Olmstead: “It meant the world to us being here and we just wanted to win so that we could get to the ultimate goal, winning the state final.”
Pavlick: “I give all the props to the kids. We preach and preach and preach preparation, they show up and they work hard. Obviously, that shows. As far as the first for the program, you can’t ask for anything better for the community. Obviously, you saw the presence we had here today. For them to be part of this, especially when we get down to Hofstra, is going to be priceless.”
Etc., etc.
Forks far preferred the nature of Wednesday’s contest to its quarterfinal, a 14-13 escape against Section 10 champion Salmon River.
The Blue Devils have won 14 straight since an April 13 setback against McQuaid Jesuit.
Cold Spring Harbor (Suffolk County) squeezed past Briarcliff, 8-7, in its semifinal at the University at Albany. The Section 8 champion has scored 17 goals in its most recent two games — half Forks’ total — but has rationed those opponents 10.
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This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Chenango Forks dominates Class D state lacrosse semifinal
