Garnets Taken to School by Talented Fox Lane, 16-4

What happens when a good Class C team like the Rye girls’ lacrosse team takes on one of the state’s Class B powerhouses in the twilight fog of a damp April day?

Fox Lane, 19-3 overall last year and with its top six scorers (including a couple of All-Americans) back, defeated the home team at Nugent Stadium by a dozen goals in a game that wasn’t that close.

Junior Kelly Bonaventura launches one under pressure.

Start with face-offs. All-American midfielder Sammy Jo Tracy, headed for Chapel Hill in the fall, won 21 out of 22. That meant the Foxes controlled the ball 90% of the game. Except for a couple of steals by valiant Rye defenders, those possessions usually ended in goals or shots that just flew by the cage.

Her coach, Bill Broggy, feels that Tracy is the most skilled girls’ lacrosse player in Section 1. “Her stick skills and intelligence are off the board. She is hard to stop when she has the ball. She is a genius when she plays lacrosse.”

Fox Lane junior Sydney Stern (44 goals, 55 assists last year as a sophomore) parked herself behind the net and whipped pass after pass to her cutting forwards, led by Cornell-bound all-American senior Lindsay Toppe, looking to top the New York State record she set last year of 132 total goals.

Junior Maddie Kinker was heroic in goal for Rye, making several point-blank saves amid the hail of shots.

By the time the Garnets crossed midfield with the ball for the first time, they were already down 4-0. Then, five minutes in, junior Annie VanWagenen scored on a brilliant move, and senior co-captain Maddy Chabot, who’ll call Wesleyan home in the fall, added another on a fast break, cutting the margin in half.

Alas, that was the Garnets’ high water mark. By halftime the score was 9-3, and junior middie Tori Virtue closed out Rye’s scoring, making it 12-4 with 14 minutes left in the game.

Afterwards, head coach Lisa Zweigenhaft was philosophical. “I look at it as a reality check. Fox Lane is one of the toughest teams we’ll play. Now let’s move on.”

A day later, the Garnets traveled to Pearl River, their likely rivals for the Class C crown, and dropped a 16-11 contest. The Pirates’ Kiera McMullan scored seven goals. Junior Emma Brinkman had four goals and two assists for the Garnets.

Rye’s next contest is April 25 at home against Ossining.

— Mitch Silver