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Another heartbreaker for LP

PLATTSBURGH – Five straight championship seasons, five heartbreaking losses.

On a windy Tuesday evening in Plattsburgh, another promising run into the state playoffs came to an end for the Lake Placid boys soccer team, as the Blue Bombers fell 1-0 to Maple Hill in sub-regional playoff action.

The evenly played Class C matchup featured two state-ranked teams, with the Section II champion Maple Hill coming out on top after it netted the game’s only goal with 13:45 remaining in the first half.

Maple Hill entered the contest unbeaten and ranked second in the New York State Sports Writers Association poll and improved to 20-0-1 with the victory. The Wildcats will now go on to face Potsdam in the Class C state quarterfinal round, with a berth in the final four on the line.

Meanwhile, the Blue Bombers had another memorable campaign come to an end in the same manner they have endured for the fifth year in a row. After claiming their fifth Section VII title in a row, they again failed to score in state playoff action and lost by a single goal.

“We started off strong in the first five minutes, and we did that in the last regional and then went to sleep,” Lake Placid coach Stuart Hemsley said. “We didn’t go to sleep tonight, we just didn’t play the quality that we have played this season. It’s frustrating not to score because that’s what this team has been doing all year – scoring goals. You can’t win a game by not scoring goals.”

Garrett Axtmann, a senior and one of the most dangerous players on the field, netted the game’s only goal with 13:45 remaining in the opening half when he fired home a rebound in traffic in front of the Lake Placid net on one of Maple Hill’s few really good scoring opportunities. Alec Yager, a junior, picked up an assist on the play.

After watching his team fall behind, Hemsley believed that the normally high-scoring Blue Bombers would be able to recover, but they ultimately were unable to come up with an equalizer, despite getting a handful of second-half chances, including a head ball off the crossbar by Blake Roy and a point-blank shot fired by Kevin Geesler that somehow was stopped by Wildcats goalkeeper Lucas Bordeau.

“They selected to go with the wind in the first half and I thought we did really well,” Hemsley said. “I didn’t think one goal was enough. We’ve been down by a goal playing into the wind and came back to beat teams cleanly, handsomely by just getting down and playing, but we didn’t get it down and play today.”

Lake Placid, which was ranked eighth in the state, certainly got off to a good start and fired three shots at the Wildcats net in the first five minutes of the match. Senior captain Stuart Baird, a four-year starter, took the first attempt less than 30 seconds into the contest, and another senior, Ryan Kane, ripped another shot on goal about a minute later.

After surviving the early pressure, the Wildcats settled in and eventually got on the scoreboard with what proved to be the game-winner.

“We got that one busting through and Garrett made that really nice hard shot,” Maple Hill head coach Dan Gillespie said. “At the beginning they had the momentum a lot with their passing game. That No. 11 (Baird) is as quick as a cat with all the moves, and then we started getting a little bit of momentum, and then it went back and forth, and then in last part of the game, you could see we were in a defensive shell trying to hold on.

“We did what we needed to do against a very dangerous team,” Gillespie said. “You could tell they’ve been winning a lot. They are a very good program, and any of the games they did lose were close. Other than that one goal, this match couldn’t have been much closer.”

Baird, as well as his teammates, coach Hemsley and the Blue Bombers fans, were all hoping this would be the team that finally broke through and reached the state final four, but Lake Placid didn’t come up with its top performance to get the job done.

“I think were just a little shocked that we’re playing in such a big game with tons of fans, and it seems like every year, it’s a recurring theme that we’re like a chicken with our head cut off – just confused about how to play our game,” Baird said. We couldn’t settle in and we didn’t settle in, that was the problem. We kept the ball in air didn’t connect passes. This was a tough, tough loss.

“It was an even game. They finished on one of their chances and we didn’t. It’s as simple as that,” Baird continued. “The first one to put the ball in the net, that was going to be the game, we knew that right from the bat.”

Maple Hill finished with a 14-13 edge in shots. Both keepers, Bourdeau of the Wilcats and Blue Bombers senior Kamm Cassidy, each finished with nine saves.

Hemsley took over the boys soccer program seasons ago, and Lake Placid has claimed the Section VII title during every one of those campaigns. At the same time, the Blue Bombers have seen those runs come to a bitter end, including this year as the team finished with a 12-5 mark.

“It’s been a very exciting year, a free-scoring year,” Hemsley said. “I’ve never seen a team score the our guys have. Multiple athletes scoring multiple goals, and I’m proud of the way they conducted themselves too. For the last five years, I’ve been trying to get them to play the right way, and they have been playing the right way, and I’ll try to do the same next year.

“It’s been five years and five years of fun,” Hemsley added. “I enjoy the kids, they keep me young, I enjoy their parents coming to watch, they’re my friends. Aside from being their coach, they’re the son I’ve never had. I have a 12-year-old girl, but every one of those kids on that team is like a son to me.”

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