Boys lacrosse: Victor goes on huge run for Section V crown, Penn Yan wins 27th title

It was almost as if the Victor boys had decided that enough was enough.

Leading by one goal at halftime, the Blue Devils found the accelerant they needed to score 11 straight goals to power their way to a 16-6 win over Spencerport in Wednesday’s Section V Class B boys lacrosse championship. It’s the ninth overall Section V title for Victor and first since 2019.

And before coach Dan Stone talked about Victor’s return to the top, he took a break to touch the championship trophy for the first time as Victor’s coach. He’s been waiting a long time for that moment.

“Too long,” he said. “Which makes it even sweeter.”

Victor had a lead to talk about at halftime, but it was just a 5-4 lead. Of course, the Blue Devils wanted more so they discussed how it would be done. And to say it worked would be an understatement.

Senior midfielder Thomas Gravino got it started with his third and fourth goals of the game in the first 2:27 of the second half. Gravino also scored the final two goals of the third quarter and by the time he scored his seventh goal of the game with 10:02 left, the Victor lead was 13-4.

“It feels great to get back,” Victor senior goalie Brady Robinson said. “But we’re not done.”

How it happened

At halftime, Victor talked about moving the ball better and faster on offense. The Blue Devils also talked about a shift on defense to limit the damage that Spencerport’s midfield was doing offensively to make the halftime score so close.

They put a short stick in the hands of defenseman CJ Palmiere, which allowed Victor to shift two long poles higher in the defensive end. That new alignment brought pressure to the midfielders earlier, which forced decisions and too often, the result was a loss of possession for the Rangers.

So if the Rangers were able to break through the riding of Victor’s attackmen, they then had to deal with defense coming from different places and angles.

“We were right there with them but with Victor, it’s always about stopping the run because it’s going to come,” Spencerport coach Bill Buttaro said. “We shot ourselves in the foot with turnovers and they capitalized.”

The Blue Devils went on to score 12 straight goals and Spencerport didn’t score again until Lucas Heinsler had an empty net in front of him with 1:15 left.

“Their team rides like no team I’ve ever seen,” Buttaro said. “They’re relentless, fast and strong. It’s difficult.”

Meanwhile, the Blue Devils were keeping the scoreboard busy. Seven different players scored on that 12-0 run, capped by a heavy rip from Liam Wheeler with 4:32 left that made it a 16-4 game.

By then, Gravino was heading to the bench to make way for seconds and thirds to run out the clock.

But seven goals? Really?

“He’s Thomas Gravino,” said Stone with a smile.

Gravino deflected the praise and heaped praise on teammates who were active with and without the ball that helped provide clean looks. And really, who’s going to pass on an open look?

“I was shooting hot and my teammates played great,” said Gravino, the tournament MVP. “Shout out to them, they really helped.”

How it happened, Part II

Remember last spring when rival Canandaigua stunned a favored Victor team in the Class B semifinals?

Victor does.

“I watched the last 30 seconds of that game to get me motivated,” said Gravino.

And what was going through your mind as you reviewed that film?

“Never again,” said Gravino. “It was an expensive lesson, but I had to learn it.”

Stone said memories of that 2022 semifinal didn’t just inspire Wednesday night’s play. It inspired the 2023 season.

“Everything we did, that was a good catalyst for it,” said Stone. “After that game, it was like going through the stages of loss … denial, anger, bargaining … all of it. The week after that, we had a cathartic meeting to share what was going through our minds and in hindsight, were were looking too far ahead and we didn’t manage that moment well at all.”

The final stage of grief is acceptance, and that’s what put everything in motion for this spring.

“That really framed what we did,” said Stone.

What’s next

The Blue Devils (17-2) advance to Saturday’s regional round of the state tournament. Spencerport ends its season at 13-6 with its first appearance in a Section V final.

By the numbers

Victor: Jack Herendeen 3 goals, 1 assist; Brady Robinson 6 saves; Sam Gotham 2 goals, 3 assists; Kyle Saeger 1 assist; Liam Wheeler 1 goal; Braeden McConville 1 goal; Pax Marshall 1 goal, 2 assists; Aiden Clinkscales 1 goal, 2 assists; Thomas Gravino 7 goals; Sam Ricci 17-24 on faceoffs.

Spencerport: Cam Mesh 1 goal, 1 assist; Lucas Heinsler 1 goal; Jayden Rodriguez 2 goals, 2 assists; Jayden Mandarano 1 goal, 1 assist; Dylan Lewis 1 goal; Taylor Kaye 9 saves.

More: Section V boys lacrosse scores for the 2023 season

Section V Class D boys championship

It took some time to figure out but once it was figured out, there was no stopping Penn Yan.

The Mustangs turned it on in the second half and pulled away from Aquinas for an 11-6 win in the Section V Class D boys lacrosse championship at St. John Fisher University on Wednesday evening. It’s the 27th title in 28 seasons for the Mustangs and senior midfielder Carter Earl has been around for four of them.

“It’s terrific,” he said. “It never gets old. This is my fourth one in five years (minus the 2020 season, COVID) and it feels just as good as when I was in eighth grade. It’s a beautiful thing.”

It was a 3-1 Penn Yan lead at the half and when Braden Fingar scored in the first minute of the third quarter, the Mustangs were off and running. They scored three more goals to push their lead to 7-1 and after Aquinas pulled to within 7-3, Penn Yan responded four straight for an 11-3 lead.

“They slide really well and we needed to move the ball and we didn’t,” said Aquinas coach Terry Corcoran. “We just couldn’t handle their defensive pressure.”

More than offense for Penn Yan

So yes, the Mustangs scored the goals they needed. But coach Brian Hobart pointed to the work of assistants Chris Redington and Harry Queener to get faceoffs in order and the defense on point.

And that’s what got the proverbial rolling for the Penn Yan offense after a slow start.

“We executed and shot well,” Hobart said of the third quarter. “(Aquinas) is a good offense but our defense, we locked them down.

There is some history to these teams meeting in championship games. Aquinas beat Penn Yan in the 2010 final to snap a streak of 12 straight titles. Thirteen years later, the Mustangs were matched up with the Irish again on the same St. John Fisher field as that 2010 championship and with Wednesday’s win, Penn Yan is again on a 12-game win streak in championship games (minus the 2020 COVID season).

“It’s what we do,” said Hobart. “It’s what we believe in.”

Oh yeah, the defense

At the other end of the field was sophomore goalie Will Thompson, who shined as tournament MVP with 10 saves. Thompson was brought up to varsity in eighth grade and told he would be the backup for two seasons to set the stage for three seasons as a starter.

“He bought into it and he’s just coming into his own, I couldn’t be happier for him,” said Hobart. “We trust Will. We know what shots he wants to see and we try to give him those shots.”

Still, Thompson said it was difficult to remain calm before the game.

“I was so hyped coming into this game, but I was seeing the ball well and it looked like a beach ball to me,” he said. “When you’re locked in, that’s how it looks.”

The trust mentioned by Hobart is rooted in the ethic Thompson displays throughout the year, not just the season, to make himself better. Practices, summer lacrosse, goalie training. Thompson is there for all of it, but he still can’t say what draws him to be a goalie.

“I don’t know,” he said with a laugh. “But it’s worked out for me.”

By the numbers

Penn Yan: Carter Earl 1 goal; Anthony Druker 1 assist; Teagan Fingar 1 goal, 3 assists; Tukker Fisher 2 goals; Braden Fingar 2 goals, 2 assists; Bryant VanHousen 2 goals, 1 assist; Caden Dixon 3 goals; Will Thompson 10 saves.

Aquinas: Drew Eddy 2 goals; Gio Valerie 1 assist; Noah Olbrich 2 goals, 1 assist; Jake Guggino 1 goal, 1 assist; Tano Auriuso 1 goal; Carter Wegman 1 assist; Jake Gibson 11 saves.

What’s next

Penn Yan is 13-7 and advances to this weekend’s regional round. Aquinas finishes 13-6.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Section V boys lacrosse: Victor captures crown, Penn Yan wins 27th title