Fox Lane proves it on the field with another big win

Kamryn Boniello scores a goal in win over Mamaroneck. Jim MacLean PHOTOS

Michaela Kaltsas fires a shot for a goal as she is pushed to the ground.

By JIM MACLEAN

In a big game, you need your big stars to come up big at the big moments of the game, and that certainly was the case for the Fox Lane girls lacrosse team as the Foxes hosted Mamaroneck on May 12.

Fox Lane trailed by three goals in the third quarter, but that’s when the big three took over for the Foxes and turned the game around. The Foxes put together a five-goal rally to take the lead and closed it out with a 14-12 victory. With the win, Fox Lane improved to 14-1 overall on the season with its second-straight impressive win over a quality opponent.

“After halftime, we had a good pep talk and we were ready to go,” said senior captain Zoe Stonecipher. “We regrouped, got the momentum and kept going, everything fell into place. We definitely won the third period. They were up, we were up, I’m glad we pulled it out in the end. We’ve heard it all, about our schedule, we can’t beat the good teams, that’s what drives us, we knew coming in we would hear it and we took that and have stayed resilient. We’re totally ready for this.”

In the third quarter trailing 9-6, Stonecipher, Michaela Kaltsas and Cora Moore took over the game for Fox Lane. They are the big three veterans leading the way for the Foxes on offense and they put on a show in the third.

Moore got the rally started as she scored at the 8:10 mark to cut the Mamaroneck lead down to 9-7. Stonecipher scored two minutes later, and then the Foxes struck fast as Moore scored 30 seconds later to even it up at 9-9.

Then it was the Fox Lane defense doing its part as goalie Sara Renz came up with two big saves to keep it tied. And the Foxes finished off the period with a big finish as Stonecipher scored her third of the game with one minute left to take the lead, and Kaltsas scored 20 seconds later off an assist from Stonecipher to make it 11-9 heading into the fourth quarter.

After Mamaroneck scored to cut the lead down to 11-10 to start the fourth, Kaltsas picked up where she left off in the third as she scored two-straight goals to make it 13-10.

Kami Boniello then scored to make it 14-10 and the Foxes closed out the victory after a couple more big saves from Renz at the other end to halt the Tigers comeback attempt. Renz finished with nine saves overall to record the win.

Kaltsas led the way for the Foxes as she finished with five goals. Stonecipher had the hat trick with three goals and she had three assists, while Moore finished with a hat trick scoring three goals and adding an assist.

It wasn’t just the big three as Fox Lane coach Jaime Williams points out there were key contributions all over the field to pull out another big win as a team.

Trailing 2-0, Dylan New helped get the Foxes started as she scored to cut the lead down to 2-1. The Foxes kept battling from behind until taking the lead in the third. Kaltsas scored a pair of goals, and Dylan New scored again as she grabbed a rebound and buried it to make it 5-4. Moore and Stonecipher each scored a goal as the Foxes trailed 7-6 at the half.

It was a good comeback against a good team as Fox Lane faced two of its toughest opponents last week and came away with two big wins over rival Horace Greeley and Mamaroneck. Fox Lane has one more game left in the regular season against Harrison before heading into the playoffs, and now everyone knows how good the Foxes are.

“Zoe, Cora and Michaela, they took over, offensively and on the draw, on the ride, in transition, they came up huge for us,” Williams said of his three stars. “Those girls led the way and came up big, but it was not just those three, other players really stepped up and we found a way to bounce back. We needed somebody to step up and Dylan New scored two big goals. Riley New did a great job on the ride. I say it’s not just scoring goals and assists, it’s the little things and Riley helped slow down the ball and stop their transition. The defense came up big, Amanda Griffin had a big takeaway, and Sara was huge in goal with big saves when we needed them. Mamaroneck is a good team, being down and bouncing back in a game like that this late in the season, shows we’re resilient and battle-tested. Now it gets serious.”