Leading off today: There's at least one game to go this season and maybe as many as three, but Canandaigua has officially reached the top tier of girls lacrosse.

   Oh, sure, the Braves have toyed with Finger Lakes League opponents for several years and even climbed to No. 1 in a national ranking briefly this spring after a highly ambitious three-game, middle-Atlantic trip. But to be the best you have to play — and beat — the best. And in the Rochester area that's meant taking on — and taking down — Brighton.

   And that finally happened last night. Senior Alyssa Johnston scored with 10 seconds left in regulation and again on a free-position shot with 22 seconds left in the second overtime to give the Braves to an 11-10 victory over the Barons and their first Section 5 title in the girls Class B final at Aquinas Institute.

   "Even after the Maryland trip (resulted in the national No. 1 rankings) we said, 'If we don'r beat Brighton it means nothing,'" junior midfielder Taylor D'Amore said. "We've had fun this season but we knew Brighton was going to be waiting at the end."

   Brighton has been the standard for excellence in the Greater Rochester area, having earned 11 straight Section 5 trophies and a 2005 New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship entering last night's final, but Canandaigua has been on a methodical climb to the top.

   The Braves started playing as a varsity team in 1994 and built the program steadily. From 2004 to '06, they went a combined 37-19, playing primarily a Class B schedule during the regular season and then larger schools in sectionals. In 2007, they were 16-4 but lost to Brighton again in the sectional final, 9-4. And an 18-2 season a year ago ended with a 14-8 loss to the Barons in the championship game.

   "We were hoping it would happen," senior attacker Alyssa Johnston said. "We'd been planning and working from Day 1 on going as far as we could, and this worked out perfectly."

   Johnston scored with 10 seconds left in regulation, then recorded the winning goal on an eight-meter shot with 22 seconds left in the second OT. It capped an arduous journey from a 4-0 deficit just 9:37 into the game.

   In fact, Canandaigua (19-2) cut the deficit to one goal four times by early in the second half, but the Barons' Leah Cronister and Beatrice Conley connected for goals that opened it back up to a 9-6 lead with 11:48 to play. And senior Brenna Bauer's goal with 5:01 left gave Brighton (16-3) breathing room at 10-8.

   Emily Zartman scored for Canandaigua with 1:04 left and it looked as though the Braves scored the winner at the regulation horn, but officials ruled Haley Marafioti's shot trickled across the goal line after time expired.

   "We knew we needed to be patient and patience isn't our middle name," 12th-year varsity coach Sue Ellis said. "We love to 'run and gun' and it's hard for them because it's a different style of play for them. So we struggle with being patient."

   But Canandaigua had justification for being confident about making up the early deficit and getting back into the game. The mid-April trip to Maryland saw Canandaigua play three of the best teams in the country — and fall behind all of them. They rallied to beat The McDonogh School, 12-10, and Good Counsel, 10-9, and fell short by a 9-8 margin to Sts. Stephen and Agnes.

   The only blemish was a 13-11 loss May 1 to Class A powerhouse West Genesee, which now holds the honor of the national No. 1 ranking according to LaxPower.com while Canandaigua and Brighton stand sixth and ninth, respectively.

   "When we got down 4-0 it was not the position you want to be in," said D'Amore, who finished the night with four goals, "but we've been there before against teams that were as good as Brighton. It's great we had that experience and it's why were able to come back against them.

   "This is the year for us. This is the year, this is the team."

   Next up for Canandaigua is a state quarterfinal on Saturday night against West Seneca West of Section 6 at Brighton.

   West Genny girls advance: Junior Bre Hudgins scored the winning goal in overtime to propel West Genesee to its third straight Section 3 girls championship with a 9-8 win vs. Baldwinsville, the school that had ended the Wildcats' 52-game winning streak earlier this year.

   Hudgins scored three of her game-high four goals after halftime to advance West Genesee to a game against Section 4 Class A rep Ithaca tomorrow. In the first OT, Hudgins ran an isolation play and bounced in a shot for the eventual game-winner.

   A Dalers delight: Farmingdale beat Massapequa in the Section 8 Class A girls lacrosse final, 14-6, as Janine Hillier and Kelly McPartland scored four goals apiece.

   It was the fourth straight championship for half a dozen seniors, and all of the title games have been against

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Massapequa.

   Corning East boys toppled: Corning East had its string of Section 4 boys lacrosse championships ended at 24 as Chenango Forks went on a 6-2 run over the final 12 minutes and beat the Trojans in the Class B final, 14-9.

   "Forks outhit, out hustled and outplayed us in the fourth quarter," Corning East coach Bob Streeten said. "We didn't respond to their aggressiveness with aggressive play."

   All-American Matt Pratt finished with five goals and an assist in the win, and John DeOrdio added four goals and an assist for Chenango Forks, which lost twice to Corning East during the regular season. One of the losses was a 9-8 overtime affair in which the Blue Devils surrendered a six-goal lead.

   Corning East never led and surrendered four man-advantage goals to the Blue Devils, who won 18 of 25 faceoffs.

   "I would classify this as the biggest disappointment in my 28 years here," said Streeten, who won his 500the game last week.

   Team with a future? I'm not sure if Silver Creek can do anything the rest of this month in boys lacrosse, but the Black Knights do seem to have a future based on yesterday's heroes in the sectional semifinals.

   Even with only 10 healthy players, Silver Creek upset No. 1 seed and defending Section 6 Class C champion Salamanca, 18-17, on John Jimerson’s goal with 16 seconds left in regulation.

   Jimerson, a freshman, finished with four goals and five assists. Meanwhile, eighth-grader Zed Williams led Silver Creek with seven goals (giving him 68 this spring) and five assists.

   Zed’s brother, Zach Williams won 30 of 38 faceoffs.

   Oneonta gets revenge: Junior Lesley Harlem scattered five hits, and Erin Wolstenholme and Sienna Wisse hit back-to-back doubles during a two-run fourth inning that carried Oneonta past Susquehanna Valley in the Section 4 Class B softball quarterfinals, 3-1.

   SV has won six state Class B championships since 1996 and defeated Oneonta by scores of 6-0 and 7-1 earlier this spring. Additionally, the Sabers inflicted a 21-3 beating on the Yellowjackets a year ago.

   "We've come so far the past two years," Wisse told The Daily Star. "From getting beat by double-digits every game to beating SV -- they're one of the best teams we play. It's amazing."

   Aquinas wins a marathon: Ben Bostick lined a single to right field with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 12th inning to drive in Jim Buonaugurio and lift second-seeded Aquinas to a 4-3 victory against East Irondequoit in the Section 5 Class A baseball semifinals.

   The Little Irish advance to play four-time defending champion Pittsford Sutherland, a 6-5 winner over Victor courtesy of sophomore Zach Salvia's walk-off single in the seventh inning at McDonough Park in Geneva.

   "I wasn't going to be patient like I was earlier," Bostick told the Democrat and Chronicle. "I just wanted to get a good pitch to hit so we could go home."

   Turf study: Artificial turf fields pose no significant health risk to users or the environment, according to a study by two New York agencies released last week, USA Today reported.

   The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Health focused on crumb rubber receycled from auto tires, the base layer used on most new artificial fields.

   Tests at two fields found dozens of chemicals including lead, zinc and benzene but all were below federal safety standards.

   Dominating for a decade: St. Francis Prep's 3-2 victory over Cardozo at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Sunday gave the Lady Terriers their 10th consecutive Mayor's Cup team crown, pushing their winning streak to 161 girls tennis matches.

   The victory was particularly meaningful for coach John Brennan, who returned in January after cancer surgery.

   "I didn't think that I'd be back coaching this season, so this one means a lot to me," Brennan told The Daily News.

   The title came down to the No. 2 doubles match. Katie Derienzo and Nicole Rydzewski delivered a 6-3, 6-4 victory to clinch for the Terriers.