Fortunato leads Northport to state final

CORTLAND, N.Y. -- Cortney Fortunato saw an opening and made a run for it. She slipped past her defender to the far left of the goal and dashed toward the net, screaming to let Allie Breitfeller know she was open. Breitfeller delivered a perfect pass at the doorstep of the goal and Fortunato buried it in the net for her fifth goal of the day. Mind you, this was less than 14 minutes into the game and the Northport attack was only getting started.

Fortunato, a sophomore, scored a career-high nine goals, Shannon Gilroy and Kiera McNally each had two goals and an assist and Michaela Aymong made a season-high 11 saves for Northport, which defeated Lakeland/Panas, 18-5, Friday in a state Class A girls lacrosse semifinal at SUNY-Cortland.

Northport (19-2) will face Pittsford (21-0) in the final at 2:30 p.m. Saturday here.

"It's incredible. We were really excited to be [at states]," Fortunato said. "This was our goal: to be up here. We came out and played really well together today."

Fortunato approached the Northport record for goals in a game (10), which teammate Shannon Gilroy tied last year, but she was taken out in the closing minutes with the game well in hand.

"Cortney was ridiculous," Northport coach Carol Rose said. "We were going to let her stay in and break the school record. But because of the score and because we want to save her for [Saturday], we don't want anybody to get hurt. She's making a huge statement."

Fortunato scored the first four goals of the game in less than eight minutes, prompting Lakeland/Panas (16-4-1) to call its first timeout, but the onslaught had only just begun. Fortunato had seven goals in the first half to lead the Tigers to an 11-2 lead at the break.

While Fortunato had a career day on offense, Aymong had her best game of the season in goal. She made several point-blank saves and has been a nearly impenetrable last line of defense for the Tigers in their last three games.

Aymong was splitting time in goal when the playoffs began and admitted to losing confidence. "It definitely pushed me to work a lot harder to want to play all the time," she said.

Rose was not certain Aymong was going to be Northport's No. 1 goalie until the Suffolk final against Bay Shore, which Northport won, 19-8. Two days later, Aymong and the Tigers' defense held two-time defending state champion Farmingdale to a season-low seven goals in the Long Island championship.

After Friday's performance Rose lavished Aymong with praise usually reserved for Gilroy and Fortunato.

"She's been playing sick since the Bay Shore game," Rose said. "Unbelievable. Showstopper."

The Tigers are vying for their first state title, coming up short in their two previous trips to the final in 1996 and '98. Rose is confident this year's squad has what it takes to win the championship.

"I think that they're intrinsically motivated," Rose said. "I believe I don't really have to say anything. They want to be here. They're on a mission. They want to complete the mission and we're going to stick with that saying, 'It's our time,' because that's what we're hoping for."