FORT COVINGTON – Sometimes in sports, one team just always seems to have another’s number. That’s been the case for the Salmon River boys varsity lacrosse team in their last two contests against Ogdensburg, who beat the Shamrocks 15-10 in their last regular season matchup and again 10-8 Tuesday afternoon in the Section 10 Overall semifinals.
“Ogdensburg played a great game, they had a good gameplan against us,” said Salmon River head coach Jim Barnes. “We just made too many mistakes during the long run.”
The game started with Ogdensburg controlling much of the first six minutes, using a slow and methodical pace to find shots against the Shamrock defense. Salmon River goaltender Xavier Delormier turned away several clean looks from the Blue Devils before teammate Tehoronhiathe ripped an absolute bullet past Ogdensburg netminder Alex Worden to open scoring.
Despite getting several open looks at the net, the Blue Devils couldn’t find a way past Delormier until Tegan Frederick got the ball fifteen feet from the goal, wound up and scored to tie it at 1-1. Moments later, Frederick would score again after a penalty against Salmon River gave them a man-up advantage.
The Shamrocks responded with fervor. Worden lost track of a rebound off a shot from Salmon River’s Ethan Seymour and the ball was knocked into the net to tie it the game. Taharihwakohe Lazore and Sebastien Laughing each hit quick goals to bring the Shamrock lead to 4-2 with only a few minutes left in the quarter. Everything seemed to be going Salmon River’s way.
A turnover on the ensuing faceoff gave Ogdensburg’s Nathan Irvine a clean run from half field to the goal for an undisturbed shot to bring the Blue Devils back within one. Ogdensburg had another chance to tie it before the end of the quarter following a Salmon River turnover, but the Shamrock defense stood tall.
Ogdensburg came out in the second quarter the same way they started the game, ripping four shots at Delormier in the opening minute before the Shamrocks finally got a deflection and took possession. Lazore found Laughing in front of the net after he beat his defender for a point blank score to put Salmon ahead 5-3.
Ogdensburg fought their way back into the game with goals from Theodore Hewko and Aidan O’Neil after some costly turnovers from Salmon River, tying the game at 5-5. For the rest of the half, Salmon River seemed to constantly be a man down as a string of penalties kept them on the defensive. Delormier did his best impression of a brick wall until the horn sounded, keeping the game tied going into the locker room.
“It got us off our game,” said Barnes.”Lacrosse is a game of runs.
“When you start getting penalties and you start making mistakes, you kind of get off that run and it’s hard to bounce back.”
Salmon River opened the second half still playing a man down, but took advantage of a turnover by the Blue Devils when Laughing carved up the Blue Devil defense by himself and took the lead back for the Shamrocks.
Ogdensburg finally found a crack in the Salmon River when O’Neil bounced one past Delormier. Dylan Irvine then wrapped around the post and slipped one past the goalie to give the Blue Devils their first lead of the game at 7-6.
After a Parker Thompson goal tied the game back up, Frederick scored with 30 seconds left in the quarter to give Ogdensburg the lead heading into the final stanza.
Salmon River started the fourth quarter with a turnover and a penalty to give the Blue Devils even more of a boost, but Delormier snagged a point blank shot out of mid-air and Carsten Mitchell ran down and scored to kill OFA’s momentum.
Ogdensburg continued to attack the same way they had all game – by winning ground balls, controlling possession and being patient in finding their openings. Their commitment to the gameplan paid off when Irvine found Frederick wide open in front of the net to make it 9-8 OFA. The nail in the coffin came moments later as Delormier tried to bring the ball out towards midfield but had it knocked away, leaving the Shamrock goal wide open. Irvine scooped up the loose ball and fired it in before the defense could recover. From there, the Blue Devils continued to bleed the clock and ultimately came away with the win.
After the game, Barnes could be heard telling his team to keep their heads held high, as they had nothing to be ashamed of after putting together such a strong year.
“I told the boys, I’m happy with the season that we had,” the coach explained. “It’s frustrating to lose like this, but I think we improved along the way.
“A lot of those guys who didn’t see much time, they’re going to be there next year. We don’t rebuild, we reload.”
Frederick and Dylan Irvine led the Blue Devils with three goals apiece. Hewko added two tallies, while O’Neil (1 assist) and Nathan Irvine each scored once. Worden had 10 saves for Ogdensburg in the winning effort.
Barreiro and Laughing both had two goals for the Shamrocks. Tehoronhiathe, Lazore, Thompson, and Carsten Mitchell each had single goals, while Alex Delormier, Kanotiio Mitchell and Seymour logged an assist each.
Salmon River finishes out their season with a 14-3 record and as Section 10 regular season co-champions. Ogdensburg (14-4) will face top-seeded Massena (15-2) tonight for the Section 10 Overall Championship. That game will begin at 5 p.m. at SUNY Potsdam’s turf field.
HS BOYS LACROSSE
SECTION 10 PLAYOFFS
Ogdensburg 10, Salmon River 8
Ogdensburg 3 2 3 2 — 10
Salmon River 4 1 2 1 — 8
