DELMAR — The product on the field for the Bethlehem girls’ lacrosse team proved to be on point from the opening whistle Thursday afternoon. The offense clicked, the defense excelled in front of goalie Maddy Ward and the Eagles controlled the bulk of the draws. Amidst all the positives was an unfortunate negative.
Bethlehem junior star Kaitlyn Tietjen made a cut and went down nearly six minutes into an eventual 15-7 victory over Colonie in Suburban Council action. Tietjen, who handles draws for the Eagles and was named a Times Union second team all-star last spring, did not return after suffering an injury to her right knee. Bri Fabian, a freshman who missed huge portions of the previous two years due to injury, stepped in and handling the majority of the draws and excelled in that role. She also scored three times.
“We have been preaching that team concept and having multiple threats on offense,” Bethlehem coach Dani Blanchard said. “Years past, we’ve had one or two scoring threats. Now, we have six or seven kids in the scoring column. We were able to pick up for Kait’s product, but obviously seeing her go down was tough. These girls are a family group, so it was them rallying around her. They answered.”
The Eagles (8-3 overall, 7-0 Suburban Council) opened Thursday’s action by scoring the first five goals. They certainly overcame the loss of Tietjen and also answered from adversity following their last loss on April 20.
Since dropping a spirited 9-8 home decision against Foothills Council juggernaut Queensbury, the Eagles have reeled off five lopsided wins in Suburban Council by a combined 89-19 margin. Overall in Suburban Council action, Bethlehem owns an impressive 121-31 goal differential.
“That was a really tough loss for us,” said Bethlehem junior standout Caroline Marotta, who paced the offense Thursday with four goals. “We worked really hard in…
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