Girls lacrosse: Warwick upsets Minisink Valley for Class B title, fourth in five years
HIGHLAND FALLS — It was redemption.
No. 2 Warwick girls lacrosse upset No. 1 Minisink Valley, 12-10, to win the Section 9 Class B girls lacrosse championship at James I. O'Neill High School on Wednesday. This was the fourth section title for Warwick in five years and first since 2019. And after losing a lead and ultimately falling in last year's semifinals, the Wildcats were on a mission.
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The Wildcats were led by Kiera Larney's game-high six goals, in a back-and-forth game. The score was knotted at two after a goal from Warriors' Sienna Roerich with 14:35 left in the first half. Then Larney put up two to answer, before Skyler Blanton eventually did as well, and the Wildcats would hold the lead at halftime and the remainder of the game. Minisink Valley put pressure on until the very end.
Warwick fell to Minisink Valley, 12-9, in their only regular-season matchup on April 8.
“I think this time we definitely just came with more energy and a willingness to win and I think going in as the underdogs definitely gave us more motivation to come out on top,' Kiera Larney said.
Warwick coach Denis O'Connor added the team played much better defensively, as well.
"We had an excellent game plan as far as knowing what they were going to run and felt that we could push the ball in space" he said. "And we just tried to change up a couple of plays that we run and it was successful.”
What it means
The Wildcats will face the Section 2 winner in a subregional matchup at Rondout Valley High School on May 31 at 6:30 p.m.
Player of the game
Kiera Larney scored a game-high six goals, including four times in the first half, and chipped in defensively in big moments as well.
“I think she’s player of the year," O'Connor said on Larney. "She’s got my vote. Skyler [Blanton], Kiera [Larney] and the rest of the girls, they play both offense and defense and it’s a tremendous unit.”
By the numbers
No. 2 Warwick (15-3) — Kiera Larney had a game-high six goals. Skyler Blanton and Kiera Mangels each added three. Jillian Ziegler set up Blanton twice late in the second half. Lily Mahoney made nine saves in the win.
No. 1 Minisink Valley (15-2) — Logan Barry and Molly Witkowski each scored three goals. Riley Boice and Sienna Roehrich each added two goals. Kaylee Gadol was strong in net and made seven saves.
Quotable
“We knew Minisink was going to be fired up after they were down, so we matched their intensity and even went higher than them. We just came out, we won every ground ball, we were just really fired up about this game.” - Warwick's Skyler Blanton on the team's gameplan coming out of halftime.
“I’m very excited. I love these girls and I did think we had the best team this year. We blew the lead last year in the semifinals, and this is redemption for us to come back and bring the fourth section championship back to Warwick in five years.” - Warwick coach Denis O'Connor on his feelings after winning the Class B championship.
MKramer1@th-record.com
Twitter: @MKramerTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Section 9 girls lacrosse: 'Underdog' Warwick wins Class B title
