Section 9 Girls Lacrosse champions

On a picture-perfect Wednesday night, May 22, at Newburgh Free Academy, the Crusaders won their first-ever Section 9 Girls Lacrosse title.
The Crusaders knocked off the reigning Section 9 Champion Kingston Tigers for only the second time in their history.
The Tigers scored in the first minute of the game but the Crusaders answered right back and took the lead 2-1 when Kiki Ross took two passes from Colleen Kinsella and buried them into the Tigers' net.
The two teams then exchanged goals until, with nine seconds left in the half, Ross again took a Kinsella pass and scored to give the Crusaders a 5-4 half time lead.
After the break, the Crusaders increased their lead to two when Jenny Stevens cut in front of the Tigers' net and fought through two defenders to score.
The Tigers, however, were not done. They fought their way back into the game and with 10:10 left they took a one goal lead.
The Crusaders' Ross-Kinsella connection then tied the game up at seven apiece before the Tigers took the lead again with 5:51 left in the game.
Crusader goalie Megan Petko then shut the mighty Tigers offense down with several fantastic saves.
This time Kinsella hit Mackenzie Schroder with a pass and she fired a shot into the Tigers goal with 5:10 left to tie the game and put it into overtime.
In the over time period the Crusaders took control of the ball and when Ross was hit in the head with a stick, she was awarded a penalty shot
Kiki then calmly fought past a defender and snapped the winning goal into the Tigers' net.
The exciting 9-8 overtime victory will send the Crusaders into the first round of the NYSPHSAA playoffs.
The time and place of the Crusaders next game is still undecided. - William Dimmit