When the team needed her in crunch time, Kady Duffy delivered.
Duffy provided the game-winning score off a free position shot with 6.5 seconds remaining in the contest, and the top-seeded Queensbury varsity girls lacrosse team secured its seventh straight and eighth overall Section 2 title with a dramatic 12-11 victory over third-seeded Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake in the Class C championship Thursday, May 29 at Shenendehowa High School.
Sparked by Duffy’s seven-goal, two-assist performance, the QHS Spartans (14-3 and ranked No. 12 in Class C by the New York State Sportswriters Association) were crowned Class C champions for the third year in a row following their 15th consecutive win in the sectional playoffs.
In a game of spurts, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake twice rallied from three-goal deficits. Queensbury took an early 4-1 lead, but the Suburban Council Spartans responded, as Grace Kogut fired home a pair of goals and Maggie Lescault scored an equalizer 1:24 into the second quarter.
Queensbury’s Callie Usher netted a goal with 4:24 left in the third quarter to snap a 7-7 tie. Duffy scored nearly two minutes later, then assisted Addison Boecher at the 1:01 mark of the period to give Queensbury a 10-7 advantage heading into the final stanza.
However, Brooklyn Landolfo scored following a Queensbury turnover early in the fourth quarter, Kogut deposited her fourth goal of the game two minutes later, and Lescault matched Kogut’s feat with 5:26 remaining to make the score 10-all.
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake held Queensbury scoreless for over 12 minutes before Gianna Marcantonio’s goal with 49.1 seconds left gave the Foothills Council Spartans an 11-10 lead. Lescault answered 12 seconds later with her fifth goal of the day, setting up Duffy’s dramatics.
Duffy, who now has 303 career points, became the fourth Queensbury Spartan to enter the exclusive 300-point club on her fifth goal of the afternoon with 29.6 seconds remaining in the first half. She joined Rachel Spaulding (403 points), Brigid Duffy (326) and Mary Rahal (308). Duffy was also victorious on 16 of 26 draw controls.
For Queensbury, Emerson Lochner-Fehl had one goal and two assists, Lilly Trowbridge contributed a goal, Marcantonio handed out an assist and Alexa McCann stopped a career-high 11 shots on goal.
Lescault led Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (9-10) with five goals and two assists. Kogut totaled four goals and an assist, Rylie Kline added a goal and two helpers, and Isabella Yecies registered 11 saves.
On Sat., June 7, four NYSPHSAA regional games are scheduled to be played at the Queensbury Union Free School District Turf Athletic Complex. Queensbury will host the Section X winner in the Class C regional final at 4:30 p.m.
Score by quarters: BH-BL 3-2-2-4=11, Queensbury 4-3-3-2=12.
BH-BL goals-assists: Maggie Lescault 5-2, Grace Kogut 4-1, Rylie Kline 1-2, Brooklyn Landolfo 1-0. TOTALS: 11-5.
Queensbury goals-assists: Kady Duffy 7-2, Emerson Lochner-Fehl 1-2, Gianna Marcantonio 1-1, Lilly Trowbridge 1-0, Callie Usher 1-0, Addison Boecher 1-0. TOTALS: 12-5.
Goalkeeper saves—BH-BL: Isabella Yecies 11. Queensbury: Alexa McCann 11.
Noteworthy Numbers
- Duffy established a new school standard with 14 combined goals in consecutive postseason games. Kady and her sister, Brigid Duffy, shared the previous record with 13.
- In her last five Section 2 Class C tournament games, Duffy delivered 32 goals and 10 assists.
- Duffy’s postseason totals (15 games) increased to 55 goals, 18 assists and 73 points.
- The Spartans now own a 25-13 record in Section 2 playoff games (8-6 in the championship).
- In the program’s 22 seasons, QHS competed in the sectional final 14 times (2010-13, 2015-19 and 2021-25).
- It was Queensbury’s 10th straight Section 2 championship appearance (Class C: 2023-25; Class B: 2015-19, 2021-22).
- Albany Academy, which Thursday garnered its 13th sectional title and first since 2014, holds the Section 2 girls tournament record for most consecutive title-game appearances with 15 (1992 to 2006). The Bears hoisted seven straight sectional crowns from 2008 to 2014.
- Bethlehem participated in nine straight sectional championship contests from 1998 to 2006, and won each of the last eight during that span (all except the 1998 affair).
- QHS defeated BH-BL for the 10th consecutive time and leads the all-time series, 13-6.
- In sectional action versus BH-BL, Queensbury won each of the last six and improved to 8-4, including 4-2 in the championship.
- Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake reached the Section 2 final for the seventh time in the last eight seasons.