BEEKMANTOWN — Head coach Heather Brewer knew her Lake Placid girls soccer team was facing a monumental task when it took on top-seeded AuSable Valley Thursday in a Section VII, Class C semifinal match.

The Blue Bombers entered the game with a young squad that had been plagued by injuries all season, and they battled hard, but fell to the Patriots by a 2-0 score to see their campaign end with an 8-7 record overall.

The Partiots scored a goal late in the first half and put the match away with another tally in the closing minutes to end an upset bid by a Lake Placid team that lost its top scorer to a leg fracture midway through the season, and had multiple players in ans out of the lineup almost since their schedule kicked off in early September.

After holding off the Blue Bombers early, AuSable Valley grabbed a 1-0 edge when Addie Stanley scored with 4:23 remaining in the opening half. Lilley Keyser then buried the insurance goal with four minutes left in the contest to send the Patriots into Wedensday’s Class C final against Northern Adirondack, which defeated Moriah in the other semifinal match.

“We lost but we played as well as we could and that’s all you can ask for,” Lake Plaicd coach Heather Brewer said. ”I think we really put it to them early in the first half and kind of surprised them. They had some scary runs but we had more possession time.

“We had some opportunties to tie it up in the second half,” Brewer added. “AuSable is good, they have more depth, so they were the team expected to win. All my players on the field, they played to the best of their abilities.

“I’m pretty happy with our season. At one point midway through the season we lost three of our best players for a three-game stretch. Olivia Ferebee was lost for the season, and Rylee Preston and Natalie Tavares were out. We overcame a a lot this year. The majority of our starters played injured this year. I’m happy with our record, especially with such a young team.

Volleyball

Saranac Lake 3,

Northeastern Clinton 0

SARANAC LAKE — The Saranac Lake volleyball team improved to 9-4 in Champlain Valley Athletic Conference action with a 3-0 sweep over Northeastern Clinton on Thursday.

Playing at home, the Red Storm swept the Cougars by 25-11, 25-10 and 25-17 scores.

Katie Gay turned in a big-time performance for Saranac Lake. The senior served up seven aces and 18 points, and chipped in six kills and eight digs.

Kelsey Leeret added 11 points, three aces, six kills and six digs in the win, and Meagan O’Brien had another strong performance setting, finishing with 15 assists.

Madie Gay was the third player contributing six kills for Saranac Lake. She also added six digs and seven points.Sydney Andronica again led Saranac Lake’s defense with 21 digs.

Six players registered aces in the victory.

The Red Storm next play at home on Monday against Peru starting at 6 p.m.