BBA, Devils to meet again for lax title
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By Tom Haley STAFF WRITER - Published: June 11, 2009
FAYSTON — The Burr and Burton Academy girls lacrosse team will be seeing red when they get to Burlington for the Division II state title game. Again.
The Bulldogs will be gunning for their third straight state championship and for the third consecutive season the team in their way will be the Chelsea Red Devils.
Emma Provenzano and Bridget Fice scored four goals apiece for the Bulldogs in their 18-9 semifinal victory over Green Mountain Valley School on Wednesday. Robin O'Neill added three goals for No. 3 BBA.
"We are really excited to see Chelsea again in the finals," Burr and Burton senior Kristen Palmer said. "We don't play them during the season, but it's getting to be a bit of a rivalry."
Palmer knows Chelsea player Grace Amber pretty well as the result of playing ice hockey together. They have been talking about the possibility of meeting again in the season's big game. Rivalry on.
The Gumbies brought the No. 2 seed and a 10-3 record into this semifinal contest, but the result could hardly be called an upset. The Bulldogs defeated GMVS 16-7 during the season.
Burr and Burton did not waste any time sending the message that the game would not be any different this time. The Bulldogs scored the first three goals, with Tess Montague getting two of them, and then built the lead to 10-3 by halftime.
The Bulldogs play with a purpose, placing a premium on cutting, screening and passing. The offense had a sophisticated look even on the possessions where they did not score.
"It has been a lot of fun to coach this team," BBA coach Dave Miceli said. "They really know what to do.
"Lacrosse has become a coach's game, but this is a players' team. They understand so much about time, score and momentum. They have different speeds. They can play intense defense or a settling defense.
"We have some leaders out there, but it seems every player is on the same page."
Following Provezano, Fice and O'Neill in the scoring parade were Montague with two goals and Jenny Coppin with a goal and two assists. Palmer and Sawyer DeVries each contributed a goal and an assist. Standout defender Sarah Shehadi had an assist. Dunja Jovicic and Brooke Sabol tacked on single goals.
Leading the Gumbies was Haleigh Carbone with four goals. Maggie McLaughlin and Emma Leblanc contributed two each and Kelly Glander, an eighth grader, had the other.
The Gumbies did attack with gusto on several occasions in an effort to climb back into the fray, but had to be dispirited by BBA goalie Paige Emond, who turned them away with some spectacular saves.
"Paige has been a good goalie all season. She is a momentum killer," Miceli said.
GMVS goalie Ainsley Carbone also made some nice saves among her 12 stops.
Any thoughts the Gumbies had about regrouping at halftime were quickly obliterated. The Bulldogs scored on the first three possessions of the second half with O'Neill getting two of the scores. All three tallies featured the Bulldogs' trademark of precision passing.
"Dave always says that perfect practices make perfect," Palmer said. "We always try to go as hard in practice as we do in a game."
When Sabol scored on a free position play, it hiked the lead all the way to 15-3.
Haleigh Carbone finally interrupted the string of goals by the Bulldogs.
The No. 1 Red Devils are 17-0, but Miceli and the Bulldogs won't be concocting any grand scheme or doing a lot of extra game planning for that opponent.
"We're going to relax. We might tweak some things, but if we don't have the skills and the tactics to play that next game at this point of the season, you aren't going to do anything in two days," Miceli said.
It's the Red Devils and the Bulldogs in the D-II title game. It's a game and a rivalry that has taken on a life of its own.
tom.haley@rutlandherald.com
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