Fox Lane Girls Lacrosse Ready for State Semis

All Fox Lane girls lacrosse standout Lindsay Toppe knows about her state semifinal opponent is that the goalie is nicknamed "The Wall."

The Foxes knew all about its Section 1 competition. They even had tape of their . But now they're headed into the unknown — their first-ever trip to the state semifinals, where it will face Watertown, a school from the Syracuse area, Friday at 2:30 p.m.

"I prefer to know something about them, just because then I feel a little more comfortable knowing what to expect," Toppe said. "But I think that once our team starts playing we'll be able to pick up on their style of play pretty quickly."

Instead, Toppe said the team is focused on its own style — a high-pressure, fast-paced system that led the Foxes to defeat Section 1 power Yorktown for its first-ever sectional title. Fox Lane followed that up with a thrilling 13-12 win over Niskayuna, where Toppe scored the winner with 28 seconds left.

"It's pretty exciting because we've never been in this position before," said Toppe, who finished with seven goals last weekend. "I try not to think about it too much because I don't want to psyche myself out and create extra pressure. We're just trying to take it one step at a time."

Toppe, who has 117 goals this season and 293 in her high school career, is one of many key players in the game. Just like they did against Niskayuna, Sammy Jo Tracy will need to control draws and freshmen Kaylie O'Hagan and Kate Burbank will need to come up big in transition.

Watertown played in the state semifinals last season. Though it lost to Garden City 16-4, that still gives the Section 3 champions an edge in experience.

"I think we'll be a little bit antsy because we've never been in this position before," Toppe said.

But it will help Fox Lane that Garden City, the four-time defending champions from Long Island, is on the other side of the bracket.

Regardless of the opponent, the Foxes are ready for the opportunity.

"If you asked me in the beginning of the season, I wouldn't have expected us to get this far," Toppe said. "Not because I didn't have faith but this takes a lot of emotional effort from the whole team.

"Now that I'm in this position I'm not as surprised. I think we have a lot of heart and we never really give up. A lot of times we may be down on ourselves but coach (Bill) Broggy will call a timeout and we can bring our play back to an intense, high level."

Editor's Note: The game was held earlier today than the time provided in this article. Fox Lane won, 19-11.