BURNT HILLS — The yelling and hugs following the goal scored by junior attack Caroline Kogut with 2:46 remaining Saturday afternoon were a bit more impassioned than normal for the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake girls’ lacrosse team. Not only was Kogut’s second goal of the game vital, it also helped ensure the Spartans would not suffer a fourth straight loss.
BH-BL, a program that reached the 2022 Class C state semifinals, put together a solid all-around performance and held on to produce an 8-6 victory over Shenendehowa in Suburban Council play at Centennial Field. The Spartans (6-5 overall, 6-2 league) snapped a three-game losing streak and handed the Plainsmen, the 2022 Class A sectional winner, their first loss in Suburban Council play.
“We needed this,” BH-BL senior midfield star MK Lescault said. “We needed this more than anything today. Just the fact that we got it sets us up for next week.”
“We’ve got (Saratoga Springs) Monday and Queensbury Wednesday, so we really needed this,” BH-BL coach Katie Kerner said. “We told them to use your losing games as fuel and motivation and they did. They did and proved they are one of the best teams.”
The Spartans suffered an 11-5 loss to Liverpool last Saturday and then dropped league contests against Bethlehem (16-5) and Colonie (18-13). Saturday, Shenendehowa scored the game’s first goal and BH-BL managed to control much of the remainder of the 25-minute first half as eighth-grade midfielder Grace Kogut won the bulk of the draws to help her team establish a 5-2 advantage. Ella Blesi scored three times and Lescault tallied the other two goals during the opening half.
“Having Grace on the draws totally changed our dynamics. It was a new look and she did great,” Lescault said. “She had been doing it sometimes, but today was her day to shine. She was fantastic and her only being an eighth…
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