The visiting New Canaan Rams upset Northport 12-8 at the Cold Spring Harbor Lacrosse Showcase over the weekend, dealing the Lady Tigers their first taste of defeat since April 6, 2019 – more than three years ago. They had won an incredible 43 games in a row, which includes two Long Island Championships and a New York State Title.

In the first nine games this year, they seemed to be more invincible than ever, outscoring opponents 136-38 until this unexpected Red Invasion from the Nutmeg State came to town.

Looking at the big picture – this was a non-league game in a tournament/exhibition atmosphere; and to a player, coach, parent or fan, the Lady T’s lofty aspirations are still fully reachable and realistic. But to witness the Lady Tigers appear vulnerable and audaciously dare to lose a game was akin to seeing snow in June, the sun rising in the west, or a sky turned red.

But the only thing that was red on this day were the steamrolling Rams, dressed in their candy apple uniforms trimmed in black. They ran roughshod over Northport especially in the second half, possessing the ball almost the entire final 25 minutes.

“It was a total team effort,” said New Canaan Senior Midfielder Dillyn Patten, who scored three goals. “It starts with our goaltender Claire (Mahoney) who played great, to our defense creating many turnovers, to our middies who won most of the draws, to our attack, that was very controlled and patient. This was a total team win overall and it was so much fun.”

The game started out like so many others for Northport and their faithful fans. Kaylie Mackiewicz scored 30 seconds into the contest on a nifty pass from Julia Huxtable. But this time, the other team answered right away.  The Cornell-bound Patten scored less than a minute later.

The two powerful teams punched and counter-punched for the rest of the first half, trading goals and running up and down the field at a pretty brisk pace on this warm spring day.

Northport’s versatile midfielder Isabella Germani scored with three and half to go and it gave the Lady Tigers a 6-4 lead. But Lexi Tully and Devon Russell, both sophomore midfielders, scored in the final minute of the half and tied the score.  The tide had tangibly shifted.

Patten scored two quickies to start the second half and the walls were in full crumble for Northport. New Canaan scored 4 goals in less than two minutes of play to bridge the first and second half and Northport called timeout with 20 minutes to go in the game to try and stop the bleeding.

It did not have the desired effect.

The Rams controlled the ball for 17 of the next 20 minutes to close out the game, as New Canaan draw-takers Devon Russell and Lexi Tully won most of the draws against the ordinarily formidable faceoff specialist Grace McCarthy. Once they secured the ball, the Rams’ passing game was flawless and their attacks thoughtful and well-calculated. They passed and probed and probed some more until a crack to their liking finally appeared. They scored three more goals using this tack to take an 11-6 lead with 15 minutes left and salted away the clock with more faceoff wins and long possessions.

Despite late goals from Ella Cabrera and Madison Dunleavy, it was much too little, way too late.

“They were a very good team,” said Cabrera, who also scored a goal in that 2019 Lady Tigers loss vs. Smithtown East, 43 games ago. “They had great ball movement and patience and they have a lot of talent. Our draw team was struggling a bit and we didn’t have as many possessions as we would like in the second half, but we are still proud of ourselves for the way we played and learned a lot from this game, and we are ready to adapt and improve.”

A silver lining indeed for the Lady Tigers and perhaps the worst possible happenstance for the team they play next – namely Huntington on Tuesday, who likely will feel the mighty wrath of a once-unbeaten, but now scorned Tiger team looking to punish the next thing that stands in its way.

Before the game, Northport was ranked #2 in the country and New Canaan #9. That is likely to change when the rankings are revised.

“We will come back stronger,” said Mackiewicz.

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