The last time the Pine Bush Bushmen had won a Section 9 Class A girls’ lacrosse championship was 2006.

That was the year most of the seniors on this year’s team were born. So, it’s almost fitting that 18 years later, the Bushmen finally ended the drought, winning their second sectional title with a 10-8 win over the top-seeded Valley Central Vikings on Thursday at James I. O’Neill High School in Highland Falls.

“We worked so hard all season,” said Sophia Licardi, a captain and one of the team’s three seniors. “I don’t think we’ve won since literally 2006, and that was literally the year we were born. We worked so hard for the past I don’t know how many years we’ve been in the sectional final and all of our hard work finally paid off.”

The Bushmen were no stranger to the championship game, having made an appearance in the last three championship games, all resulting in double-digit losses to the Kingston Tigers. The Bushmen took care of that problem in the semifinals on May 21 at Pine Bush High School when they defeated the third-seeded Tigers, 12-6.

That made it extra special when Licardi accepted the Section 9 championship plaque in her last chance to win one.

“I’ve wanted this so bad, and it feels so good to finally win,” Licardi said.

The way things started, the top-seeded Valley Central Vikings looked poised to send the Bushmen home disappointed for the fourth straight season, getting off to a 4-0 lead after the first quarter and held a 6-3 lead going into the fourth.

“I think we were slowing down a little bit because I think some of us were getting nervous,” said Samantha Budney, who led the Bushmen with three goals and one assist. “Then we really couldn’t figure out how to play them. But once we figured them out, then they were gone from there.”

Immediately into the quarter, Valley Central’s Hannah Stahl received two minutes in the penalty box and then over a minute later, Chloe Santangelo got called for a 2-minute penalty, giving the Bushmen a two-person advantage and forced the Vikings to play down 1 for the rest of the game.

That penalty came on the same play in which Kathryn Cragan scored a goal to pull the Bushmen to within two, 6-4.

Immediately after, with 10:06 remaining in the game, Licardi scored to draw the Bushmen closer, and Fiona Varley’s goal with 9:10 remaining tied the game at 6-6.

Then with 7:50 remaining, Lillian Atria put the Bushmen ahead for good and about 30 seconds later, Mackenzie Brown gave the Bushmen an 8-6 lead.

“I think they played with a sense of urgency,” Pine Bush coach Samantha Schwartz said. “They were capitalizing on opportunities that they earned. They kept their composure and just played with hustle. We’ve been playing with a small team the whole season, so they’re used to being in a game that was intense. They’re used to having those type of legs, so they really pulled it out.”

Valley Central’s Rebecca Sibley scored two of her three goals in the fourth quarter, but the Vikings never closed to within less than two goals, as their season ended with a 12-3 record and a 5-0 record in Division I.

In addition to Sibley’s three goals, Lorena Rivera and Rilee Kinsley scored two goals each and Emily Malone added one.

Brown scored two goals and had an assist for the Bushmen. Varley had two goals and Atria had a goal and two assists. Cragan had one goal and Anneliese Vitale had an assist.

The Bushmen will travel to Lakeland High School on Wednesday to face Section 1 champion Suffern in the NYSPHSAA subregional. The winner will face the Section 2 champion at Queensbury High School.

“I’m just excited to keep going,” Licardi said. “I think we have a great group of girls, and we just need to keep playing like we should and we’re only getting better from here.”