DELMAR — Some losses can be more disappointing than others. The last defeat the 2022 Bethlehem girls’ lacrosse team experienced proved to a crushing blow as the top-seeded Eagles suffered a 12-11 loss to Saratoga Springs in triple overtime at home in the Section II Class A semifinals.
“The loss was heartbreaking,” Bethlehem junior attack Kait Tietjen said. “That was a game we could have pulled out, so the loss was unfortunate. I think knowing that we could have won that game has made us work 10 times harder this year.”
“It has probably been our biggest motivating factor this season without having to talk about it,” Bethlehem coach Dani Blanchard said.
“I think every team needs motivation to get them to go as far as possible. Last year, that loss to Saratoga provided a big impact to this season in how we approached it and never wanting to have that feeling again,” Bethlehem senior defender Nina Palella said.
There was no chance for redemption in Class A this season as the program has competed at the Class B level. The Eagles defeated Niskayuna 12-6 in the sectional final and then produced state playoff wins over Yorktown (7-6) and Minisink Valley (9-6) to advance to the Class B state final four. The next challenge for Bethlehem (16-3) comes against defending state champion Victor (16-4), the champion from Section V that defeated Queensbury 14-5 in the 2022 title game, on Friday at SUNY Cortland.
The Eagles returning this season each received a clear message from Blanchard on what was expected. Talking about the stunning defeat to Saratoga Springs was not needed.
“Each kid we talked to, we gave them a strength to continue to carry but we also talked about weaknesses that we had to improve on for this season,” Blanchard said. “We knew we were going to be a small team, so our transition game had to be on point. We also lost some veteran defenders, so we had to pick up…
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