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Drive For Five Tank Runs Empty
"It is time for us to stand and cheer for the doer, the
achiever, the one who recognizes the challenge and does
something about it." - Vince Lombardi.
The often doubted,
never say never fairy-tale finish for the West Genesee
Wildcat boys lacrosse teams quest for a fifth straight
New York State title ended up with an "unlikely" appearance
at Kenneth M LaValle Stadium on the campus of Stony Brook
University for the Class A Championship. The often criticized
and doubted 'Cats recognized that challenge just at the
right time and made a statement that the cream really does
rise to the top when they marched through sectional and
regional play. Despite those mid-to end-season setbacks,
they never gave up hope and belief in themselves or the
end goal of capturing their 5th straight championship.
In front of 300 plus of the "Wildcat Nation" faithful
who came by bus and car to Long Island, the 'Cats who were
seeking their 15th title in this, their 19th appearance
in the title game, ran into a formidable foe in the undefeated
Lions of West Islip (23-0).
The game started with Lions taking the opening face off,
of which they dominated by taking 10 of the 17 draws on
the day, only to see Genny goaltender John "black
hole"
Galloway swallow up their first attempt to put a marker
on the board. Junior attacker Collin Donahue got things
going for the 'Cats when at the 10:13 mark, went low with
a shot past goalie Sal Barcia,
the games defensive MVP, to go up 1-0.
The Lions then roared back with three goals
of their own to make a statement and set the tone for the
game. With 8:24 remaining Islip attacker Brian Caufield
went low with a right-hander beating Galloway to knot the
score at one apiece. Genny then reverted to flashes of
the problems which haunted them all season by giving the
ball back to the Lions on two consecutive trips through
unforced errors and a few "one and done" trips
resulting in a few easy saves for Barcia coming off weak
shots. The Lions then pounced again when attacker Justin
Turri strode in left goal line extended and ripped a left-hander
with 4:48 left to jump out to a 2-1 lead. Two minutes later
middie Chase Gaudet directed a shot off the stadium turf
that found the net over Galloway's right shoulder to push
the lead to 3-1. The 'Cats had one more chance as the period
ended when junior attacker Adam Mazzoni found a loose ball
in a scrum and launched a worm burner off the turf and
between the feet of Bacia that was determined to have crossed
the goal
line a split second after the horn sounded by the officials. Unfortunately
for the 'Cats, replays clearly show the ball between the
pipes before the final horn sounded.
Genny senior middie Scott Cost got the 'Cats going again
when he blasted in from the right restraining line and
placed the ball in the low left corner to cut the deficit
to one with 9:19 remaining in the half. Galloway then continued
his season-long defensive domination by stuffing consecutive
shots by the Pride resulting in a few fast break opportunities
that were stood up by the staunch Islip defensive unit.
Genny faced a ride unlike any they seen this season as
the Lions continuously pressured the 'Cats on the clear
which ended up causing a
few bad decisions and turnovers by the 'Cats. With pressure
being applied on the clear and much to the delight of the
Genny faithful, Galloway took off on his
own and much like his Shove Park box style
of play sprinted
up field and ripped his own shot off
the turf which flew inches over the top cross bar, just
missing tying the game at 3.
Sophomore middie Luke Cometti then followed the same path
layed in the carpet that Cost earlier took and after shaking
off his defender, whipped a left-hander that tucked nicely
under the cross bar to tie the game at 3-3 with 7:45 remaining. In
a game of scoring spurts by both teams, the Lions answered
the Genny challenge a little over one minute later when
Brian Caufield flicked a 5 yarder past Galloway for a 4-3
advantage and with 2:29 to go and Turri again tallied when
he put a nice spin move on All-American defender Jaren
Woepple and tucked a shot in the top left corner to push
the Lions lead once again to two goals as
the half ended.
The third period was played
pretty much to a stalemate as coaches Mike Messere and
Bob Deegan scripted a few half time defensive adjustments
that slowed the high-scoring Lions to set the stage for
a Wildcat comeback. However on the other side, the Lions
towering close defensive unit comprised of Christian Scuderi,
Ryan Flanagan and Andrew Florido caused
havoc amongst the Genny attack throughout the day by denying
the 'Cat offense many good looks and closing off the passing
lanes around the crease. Most every shot the Wildcats managed
to launch was contested with one or more Islip defenders
draped over them like a wet carpet.
Middie Ben Arikian then scored off a runner with 3:37 remaining
to once again double up the Wildcats. Genny got it's spark
back when senior attacker Roby Farchione layed
a nice inside roll move on his defender and unleashed a
shot to the low left corner past Barcia to make the score
6-4 with 1:28 remaining in the quarter.
The Lions seemingly put the game out of reach to begin
the fourth when off a fast break initiated by a Bacia save,
advanced the ball very reminiscent of a Genny fast break,
which ended up in the cross of Caufield who easily flicked
the ball past a leaping Galloway as he had to adjust for
defensive units slide. The score now stood at 7-4 with
6:23 remaining and the 'Cats needing to pull another another
one of their miracle comebacks out of the bag. Step one
was accomplished when attacker Collin Donahue scrapped
for a loose ball off the carpet and while being layed out
by his defender, managed to let loose a shot which cut
the lead to 7-5 with 2:02 remaining.
Step two saw junior middie Tim Desko, who often found himself
unattended to by the Lion defensive unit on this day was
positioned 10 yards off the the right post with arms waving
to signal his availability and finally someone noticed.
Desko took two steps and fired a nice left-hander past
Bacia with 1:28 remaining in the game to bring the 'Cats
within one and the Wildcat nation stood in anticipation
of yet another miracle comeback...but could they pull it
off remained to be seen. The 'Cats had not been able to
control the
"X" for much of the day but this time junior
Aaron Printup took the draw which sophomore Ben Waldron
sucked up as he swept in from the wing. Waldron
gave it up to Jaren Woepple who headed up field as the
center cleared as he headed straight to the
goal and all looked good except for one fact...one too
many 'Cats stood on the offensive side of the field.
With less than a minute remaining in
the game, the Lions retained possession on the turnover
and had nothing more to do than hold the ball in the box
as the Wildcats frantically and unsuccessfully clawed away
and doubled the ball to reclaim possession. Islip bobbed
and weaved away the final ticks of the clock and with it
claimed their first ever state title in boys lacrosse and
closed the final chapter on the fairy tale season for the
Wildcats quest for the "drive for five".
So cheers for the doers, the achievers, and those that
recognized the challenges they faced this year and made
a statement to all the doubters and nay sayers that win
or lose...the West Genesee Wildcats are champions that
define what all others aim to be by the benchmark they
have established.
'Til next season....GO 'CATS!!!
Championship photo gallery still to come!
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
final |
| West Genesse |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
| West Islip |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
C. Donahue 2-0, Cometti 1-0, Cost
1-0, Desko 1-0, Farchione 1-0,
SAVES: Galloway 12
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| Click on an image
below to view a game highlight Quicktime movie |
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| Collin Donahue from close range |
Scott Cost with the runner |
Cometti places one under the crossbar |
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| Farchione spins and tallies |
Desko cuts the lead to one |
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