Cats Bearly Get By Vestal 15-9
 
 
 
The West Genesee Wildcats continued their push for an unprecedented fourth State title in a row and their 14 overall with a 15-9 win over Sec. IV champs the Vestal Golden Bears. Played at the RJ Bragman Stadium at Cicero-North Syracuse High school on a day that displayed 80 plus degree temperatures the home Wildcats were given everything they could handle early on by the Golden Bears.
 
West Genny started out on top when  senior middie Brian Griffin won the draw and ripped a right hander past senior goalie Brandon Novak for a 1-0 lead. Vestal tried to retaliate with senior middie Kyle Bird's point blank attempt but it was steered aside by senior goalie Dan McKeon. The Bears made good on their next attempt at 9:28 when senior middie Connor Duffy curled around the cage and stuck a shot in the lower right corner past McKeon making it 1-1. Genny wasted little time taking the lead back at 9:01 when senior middie Tim Griffin cut down to the left of the goal, passed across the goal mouth to a wide open senior attackman Tim Spillett. With the Cats serving a 30 second pushing violation middie Kevin MacNeill took a Bird pass at 7:05 and ripped a shot past McKeon to knot the game at 2-2.

McKeon did come to the rescue on the next West Genny penalty at 5:46 when he made two saves in a row on senior attackman Nick Youngstrom and Junior attackman Andy Cook. Genny re-took the lead 3-2 prior to the end of the first quarter 3:27 when Spillett took a pass from senior middie Mark Cometti and slipped a shot by Novak.
 
The second quarter saw the Bears come right back as they continued to invert their midfielders and run isolation plays from behind. Duffy made it 3-3 at 11:12 as he ran from behind and stuck his shot in the goal. At 10;21 is was Duffy again assisting MacNeill, as his feed across field eluded several Genny sticks and MacNeill fired a right handed shot home for a 4-3 lead. West Genny's uncharacteristic first half finally came to a head when they were whistled for a technical foul giving Vestal another man down chance to capitilize on and they did. This time it was MacNeill  at 8:06 as he beat both Cometti and senior defender Mark Cizenski to give the Bears their largest lead of the day 5-3. Cometti made up for his defensive lapse  with a goal at 7:17 to cut the lead to 5-4 drawing a pushing  penalty.

Vestal then added insult to their own injury at 6:53 with an off-sides giving Genny a two man advantage. The Cats pounced on the opportunity 5-5 with Spillett converting a pass from senior attackman Dave Osier at 6:41. Genny then briefly retook the lead with Cizenski breaking up a play at midfield, stealing the ball and finding senior attackman Jeff Ryan who finished off the break at 1:03 for a 6-5 lead. But Vestal returned the blow with just 28 seconds left as Cook, guarded by two Cat defenders spun an fired a shot that found its way past McKeon and knotting the game at 6-6.
As the half ended the Vestal fans were ecstatic and cheered their troops as they headed the lockeroom,The Cats gathered at midfield around coach Messere for several moments of attitude and mind readjustment and it worked.
 
Spillet began the Wildcat third quarter with a three goal run at 10:19 taking a feed from Ryan and calmly sticking it in the net for a 7-6 lead. The next goal at 9:09 was just a matter of desire, plain and simple. It began as Osier drove to the goal, got his first shot stuffed by Novak and as the ball bound skyward, Osier surrounded by three Vestal defenders out lept them all and dumped a shot by the stunned Novak for an 8-6 advantage. Genny's next goal 8:48 was a product of fast break perfection as senior middie Brian Joy fed senior middie Kevin Courtney who then found Osier who ripped a bouncer over Novak's shoulder and a three goal gap 9-6.

Bird followed with his third of the game at 6:12 as he set himself alone up top, ran wide of Cometti and fired a knee high stick side shot past McKeon making it 9-7.
The Cats continued to swarm the Vestal goal and it paid off as Osier hit Spillett with a pass. Spillet's shot was turned aside by Novak, but Ryan was right their to grab the loose ball and stick it home for a 10-7 lead with 5:43 to go. Vestal battled back with a goal 10-8 at 4:20 when MacNeill swept to the right of McKeon and whipped a 20 yard shot into the goal. West Genny ended the third with a goal with just 46 seconds remaining that began with senior defenseman Sean Leahy chasing down an errant Wildcat clear. As the ball sailed over head, Spillett ran to the sideline and corralled the ball, Leahy then cut to the goal, took Spillett's pass and whipped a shot between Novak's legs and an 11-8 lead.
 
The fourth quarter began with Cizenski feeding Osier just eight seconds in at 11:52  to give the Cats a 12-8 lead. Bird  got Vestal back within three with an unassisted tally 31 seconds later 12-9 while also drawing a one minute cross checking penalty.
West Genny responded at 10:54 to the man-down with a great piece of work by Ryan. As three Vestal defenders tried to corner Ryan, he used a series of multi-directional moves, turned the corner and beat Novak with a left hander from close range for a 13-9 lead. Junior defender Jaren Woeppel started the next run with a great play at midfield, passing to Osier who then hit Ryan with his second of the row for a 14-9 lead with 7:17 to go. Spillett finally put the game away with 4:44 to go taking an Osier feed as putting it past Novak easy as you please 15-9 setting up the State Semi-finals against Orchard Park in Rochester on Thursday.
 
  1 2 3 4 final
West Genesse 3 3 5 4 15
Vestal 2 4 2 1 9
Spillett 5-1, Osier 3-3, Ryan 4-1, Cometti 1-1, B. Griffin 1-0, Leahy 1-0, Cizenski 0-1, T. Griffin 0-1, Joy 0-1,
SAVES: McKeon 15
Click on an image below to view a game highlight Quicktime movie
Tim Spillett tallies one of five Osier leaps with the rebound Ryan off the fast break
Dan McKeon with one of his 16 saves Long pole Leahy lands his first career goal Jeff Ryan notches number four