Northport moves one step closer to state title in girls lacrosse
Northport's Shannon Smith, left, celebrates with Isabella Germani after scoring against Suffern during a Class A semifinal at the NYSPHSAA Girls Lacrosse Championships in Cortland, N.Y., Friday, June 10, 2022. Credit: Adrian Kraus
CORTLAND, N.Y. — Throughout Northport’s run to the girls lacrosse state semifinals, Isabella Germani has continued to be at her best in crucial moments. Germani has excelled in second halves over the last few weeks, and with the Tigers one victory away from playing for a state title, Friday was no different.
Germani scored all four of her goals in the second half as Northport defeated Suffern, 12-7, in the girls lacrosse state Class A semifinals at SUNY Cortland Friday morning.
“Great players step up in big games and she really wants this and she really wanted to go back to the championship,” coach Carol Rainson-Rose said. “She’s a battle-tested warrior. She thrives on this, so we’re really proud of her.”
Northport (20-1) will play Baldwinsville (17-2) in the state final on Saturday at 9 a.m. Suffern finished 17-4.
The Tigers trailed at halftime, 5-4, but scored the first six goals of the second half, including four goals over the opening five minutes to take an 8-5 advantage.
“I think once we kind of calmed down and took a deep breath we realized, ‘We can do this, we’ve been here before and we can get it done,' ” Germani said. “And we got it done today and I’m so proud of everyone.”
Northport started quickly in the second half, as Shannon Smith scored 20 seconds into the period off an assist from Kaylie Mackiewicz to tie the score at 5.
“That was huge because we just built upon that,” said Rainson-Rose, who also celebrated her birthday Friday. “It was all about confidence after that.”
Mackiewicz scored roughly three minutes later off an assist from Smith to give Northport a 6-5 lead with 21:23 left.
“It definitely boosted our confidence a lot,” Smith said. “Knowing that we could do it literally just right off the bat so quickly and get that lead boosted our confidence.”
Mackiewicz finished with a goal and four assists. Julia Huxtable had two goals, and Emma McLam and Ella Cabrera each added a goal. Megan Morris had 10 saves. Smith, who had three goals and an assist, took the draw controls in the second half, and Rainson-Rose credited her ability there in shifting the contest.
Northport won the state Class A title in 2019 — the last year of the girls lacrosse state championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tigers have built toward this part of the season all year, looking to win their second straight state crown.
“It means so much to us,” Smith said. “Especially when we were all freshmen and we were here and we won and now we’re all seniors. We want to finish it here with a win as seniors, too.”
