Ithaca High School’s Julia Blakeslee carries the ball during the Section IV Class B Girls Lacrosse Championship against Horseheads on May 24 at Joe Moresco Stadium. The senior led the way with six goals en route to a 16-3 win, the Little Red’s first sectional title since 2021. Photo by John Brehm.
In recent years, the Ithaca High School girls lacrosse team has constantly battled against Corning for the Section IV title in Class A. It was a new challenge for the Little Red down in Class B this season, but they passed those tests with flying colors.
Sports by Ryan Gineo, ESPN Ithaca
On May 24, Ithaca eased by Horseheads 16-3 in the Section IV Class B Championship at Joe Moresco stadium, claiming its first sectional title since 2021. While this isn’t the first time this season that the Little Red have blown out their opponents, they saved arguably their best performance of the campaign for when it mattered most. Star senior Julia Blakeslee credited all the work the team put in throughout the season, ultimately culminating in some more hardware.
“I think it took a lot of hard practices before and building up the energy and intensity the following days before,” Blakeslee said. “I think we went into the game with a bunch of energy, and that helped a lot.”
Right from the get-go, Ithaca was on the front foot. The Little scored three goals in the opening six minutes and went into the halftime break up 10-0, all while outshooting the Blue Raiders 23-7. It’s safe to say that the game plan devised by head coach Kaitlyn Hoffay and assistant coach Chuck Little set them up for success.
“Coach Hoffay and Coach Chuck—building up the whole season and in the days before—really made us feel prepared,” Blakeslee said. “One thing we struggled with [this season] was our whole offense working as a unit, and I think we really pulled that together during the game and worked well.”
Blakeslee and fellow senior Gianna Varma stole the show, combining for 11 of Ithaca’s 16 goals (Blakeslee netted six, while Varma scored five). The midfield duo made sure that game would not be their last for the Little Red.
“I think just having that space that my teammates would give me to work on that left elbow so I have more room to drive helped a lot,” Blakeslee said. “Working with Gianna with the two-man [game] helped a lot, as well.”
In terms of the other scorers, sophomore Ella Thomforde chipped in with a hat trick, while Eleni Switzer and Reese Montivero-Cole also got on the scoresheet.
Blakeslee is one of just four seniors on the Little Red. After they graduated eight players from last season’s squad, she knew that she had to raise her performance levels to help guide Ithaca to more postseason triumph.
“Having a lot of seniors last year, that kind of gave me a feeling that I need to step up and become more aggressive,” Blakeslee said. “I think that across the board offensively and defensively, I’ve become more of a threat and aggressive.”
Blakeslee also shared what other aspects of her game have improved throughout her varsity career.
“I’ve definitely improved on [my] knowledge of the game and knowing when the right time to continue my drive or just pull out,” Blakeslee said. “I became a little bit stronger, and [I’m] improving on my stick skills.”
That mindset has helped Blakeslee become one of the top players in the section. The senior led the Little Red in goals (72), assists (14), points (86) and draw controls (62), garnering a Section IV Division I First Team All-Star Midfielder selection. She was also named a USA Lacrosse Academic All-American for her excellence in the classroom with a 5.0 GPA.
The focus for the Little Red quickly shifted to their regional game against Section III’s West Genesee on June 1, which also took place at Joe Moresco Stadium. The Little Red hoped to achieve something unprecedented: make the state semifinals for the first time in program history. Of the seven times they’ve made regionals, four of those losses were at the hands of the Wildcats.
For a good 10 minutes, it seemed like this year would be the year to duck that trend. The Little Red got off to a flying start, going up 4-1 thanks to a Blakeslee hat trick. But it wasn’t meant to be, as West Genesee took control from there on out and eventually prevailed 15-7.
There’s still plenty to be proud of during Ithaca’s venture in Class B. The Little Red finished with a 10-8 record, a sectional title in hand, and had seven players named as Section IV Division I All-Stars.
There’s still the question of whether or not the program will be back up in Class A next season. According to the Section IV Athletics website, Ithaca would still be considered a Class B school in girls lacrosse due to their classification enrollment falling just five points short of being in Class A. However, schools are allowed to request being moved up in classification.
Whichever class the Little Red find themselves in come 2024, the quest for back-to-back sectional titles will be as strong as ever.
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