SLICK EFFORT

BARRON LEADS DEVILS WITH 3 GOALS, 3 ASSISTS
DEVILS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS IN BILLSVILLE
SOUTH GOALIE QUINLAN SOLID IN LOSING EFFORT

(WILLIAMSVILLE) The Red Devils made if five in a row on Wednesday, as they defeated Williamsville South by the score of 8-3. The rainy weather made for sloppy conditions. However, Clarence simply went to work and controlled play for much of the contest. Dan Barron (3 g, 4a) led the team with a solid effort on offense. The Red Devil midfield played well, picking up 26 groundballs. Ryan Duff and his defensive corps limited the Billies to just 12 shots on the night. The win raised the Red Devils to record to 9 and 5 on the season.

Due to the slick field, both teams had difficulties maintaining possession for any serious length of time. After several chances, the Red Devils got on the board first at the 9:04 mark. The goal came off a beautiful pass from Dan Barron. Jordan Collins-Hartwig cut hard through the South defense. Seeing the opportunity, Barron quickly fed the ball to Collins-Hartwig, who in turn fired it past South goalie Mike Quinlan (20 saves) for Jordan's 34th goal of the season. Clarence took the early lead 1-0.

Barron had a hand in six of the eight Clarence goals on the night. The next two goals came direclty off his stick. With 5:21 remaining in the first, Barron put the Red Devils up 2-0 on a nice shot from the crease area. The goal was set up by Tom Owen on a great pass and assist.

Three and a half minutes later, Barron struck again. The play was created off a pass from Dave Colicchia (2a). Click once again found Barron working his way towards the crease area. Barron received the pass, and fired a quick bounce shot past Quinlan to raise the Red Devil lead to three.

Barron returned the favor with just 10 seconds left in the first quarter. Dodging behind the net, Barron drew the attention of the Billies defense. He then spotted Colicchia occupying an open seam in a mass of Dpoles. Click pulled in the pass and quickly worked for the shot. Click pulled the trigger, Quinlan had little chance, and Clarence finished the first with a 4-0 lead.

The Billies came out hard in the second quarter, scoring a goal just one minute in. It came off a great individual effort by senior attackman Max Muscato. Muscato fought through several defenders, running across the top of the Clarence defense. He then worked his way free and ripped a beauty of a shot past Duff to make the score 4-1.

The balance of the second quarter saw back and forth action as both teams struggled with their clearing attempts. Quinlan was stellar in net, facing 7 shots, and it wasn't until the 2:02 mark that the Red Devils would finally get one past him. The goal came off a nice pass from Dan Barron who spotted Tom Owen on a cut through the defense. Owen pulled in the pass but had difficulty getting off a shot. Owen quickly switched to his off-hand and fired the ball past Quinlan just outside the crease. (...and who says box players have no left!) The score now stood 5-1 in favor of Clarence.

It would look as though the quarter would end that way. However, South would respond with goal with just 9 seconds left in the half. Muscato helped on the setup, and then senior middie Aaron Mong fired a hard bounce shot from about 15 yards that beat Duff. The Billies were down 5-2 at the half but fired-up at the prospect that the tide may be turning.

The water-logged second half saw much of the same type of action as the first. However, the Red Devils were not pleased with the late South goal, and were determined to shut the door on the Billies in the third quarter. Wasting little time, Clarence struck back just 39 seconds in. Gaining possession after the faceofff, the Red Devils set up the offense in South territory. A quick hard shot sailed wide which was promptly backed up by Barron. On the ensuing play-in, Barron quickly rifled a pass to Jordan Zaprowski who had found an opening inside a confused South defense. Zaprowski ripped it past Quinlan to make it 6-2.

If that didn't dampen the spirits of the Billies, the next score definitely did. Three minutes later, Owen picked up his second of the night. Camped out above the crease, Owen bumped for position with a South defender. Colicchia created the play up in the slot. Click faked a shot several times before drawing the defender out towards him. Patiently, Click waited for the right opening to get the pass into Owen. Finally seizing his opportunity, Click fired it to Owen, who quickly turned and fired the ball into the net. The Devils took a commanding 7-2 lead.

However, Clarence was not done scoring just yet, as Barron finished up his hat trick with 3:17 remaining in the the third. This time, the Red Devils caught South unsettled in their own zone on a transition play through the midfield. Barron was the finisher and once again bounced a shot past Quinlan to make it 8-2 . The third quarter expired with the visitors holding a six goal lead.

Only one goal was scored in the fourth quarter and it came with just under a minute remaining in the contest. Once again, Muscato did the damage, scoring on a nice transition play. The Billies caught the Red Devils defense unsettled on a fastbreak. Junior midfielder Colton Seeburg picked up the assist on a nice pass that left Muscato one on one with Clarence goalie Sean McCarriagher. The quick bouncer from just outside the crease found its way to the back of the net, and the final score would end up: Clarence 8, Williamsville South 3.

Clarence finishes up league play against Orchard Park on Thursday, before playing three non league games to finish out the season. The Quakers currently are undefeated in Class A and will be a formidable opponent for the Red Devils. The final four varsity games of the regular season will be played at home. Hope to see you there!

PS - Night Games + Rainy Weather = No pictures (Sorry!)