IHS girls lacrosse wins Section IV title again

Ithaca girls lacrosse continued its dominance of Section IV last week with a 13-6 win over Corning in the Section IV Championship game. It was the Little Red’s third consecutive sectional title and completed an undefeated regular season against Section IV opponents, as their two losses came outside of the section.

They had to dig deep for this win after a slow start that saw them trailing Corning 2-0 midway through the first half. Head coach BJ Bliss promptly called a timeout after Corning’s second goal, and the team responded in a big way. Following the timeout, the Little Red scored eight unanswered goals and looked like a different team.

Junior Shea Baker scored four goals in the game alongside senior Madeline Hall. Baker discussed the timeout that changed the tone of the contest.

“We definitely came out slow,” Baker said. “I don’t know if it was the heat or just expecting to beat them like we did the second time we played them, but once we called that timeout, I knew we needed that. Our senior leadership definitely pulled through. We lifted some hanging heads and caught our breath, and then we came out ready to go. We knew it wasn’t over. I had no doubt in my mind that we would definitely come out strong, and we just started clicking.”

The main message of the timeout was to not hang your head and to remind the players that there were well over 30 minutes left in the game. Stopping the momentum of Corning was the goal for Ithaca, and they certainly achieved that. Baker talked about what was working for Ithaca during the impressive turnaround.

“Our team did an amazing job of winning those extra possessions in the defensive zone and in transition,” Baker said. “That obviously translates into the offensive zone. With the face guard [a defender who followed Baker everywhere], it opened up space for my teammates. We’re just so deep on offense. We have seven threats, and their defense just couldn’t match it. There was so much space, and we just found ways to bury the ball.”

That depth was present offensively as five different players scored to lead Ithaca to the victory. The success comes from chemistry built over many years, according to Baker.

“There are a couple new faces on offense this year, but for the most part, we’ve been playing together since we were five or six,” she said. “Our coaches have done a great job of teaching us new offensive sets that allow us to be creative and find openings without being too scripted. We just read and react to the defense. They threw out a new zone [at] us last game, and I think it took us the first couple minutes, obviously, to adjust, but we do a great job of just reacting as the game goes on.”

It was a great way to cap off a strange year for the Little Red. Ithaca had a smaller roster this year due to the pandemic. The team also played home games on the grass junior varsity field rather than the turf in Moresco Stadium due to the construction that is nearing completion. While the team does not get to contend for a state championship this year, the Section IV Championship was a great reward for this season.

“In a normal year, we’d be excited, but we’d want to move on to states and make noise,” Baker said. “But since that was the end all be all this season, I think it was more special. Not being on the turf and everything actually makes it feel a lot less of a big deal, but I was so excited and so happy for my team after this hard year. I feel like we deserved it. We definitely put in the effort.”

It’s not easy to win three consecutive Section IV titles, and that number would likely be four if last year’s season was not canceled. The lengthy run of success comes from the culture at Ithaca High School and Ithaca’s club lacrosse program, according to Baker

“A big part of it is that we have a club program,” Baker said. “We’re with each other all summer and all fall. Another big thing is like being a part of [Ithaca] athletics, it’s so fun to see all the other teams and convene in the parking lot before games and practices and stuff with the boys lacrosse team. It’s really special. I just feel like we breed athletes no matter who it is. We have so many new faces every year, and they’re all just so dedicated, even if they haven’t played much lacrosse, and I think that leads a lot to our success.”

Baker, who is already committed to play lacrosse for Division I national champion Boston College, will be back for Ithaca next year looking to make four sectional titles in a row. Next year, a trip to the state tournament will be waiting for them should they win the Section IV Championship again.