DEVILS VICTORY
ALMOST GOES SOUTH

BARRON AND COLLINS-HARTWIG COMBINE FOR FOUR GOALS
SOUTH NETMINDER MIKE QUINLAN SPECTACULAR IN LOSS
DEVILS HOLD OFF LATE SOUTH RALLY TO PRESERVE 7-6 WIN

(CLARENCE) Are the refs here yet? Clarence and Williamsville South finally played their non-league contest 24 hours after originally planned. A scheduling 'faux pas' in the assignment of the game officials left the two teams basking in the sun late Wednesday afternoon with nothing much to do. Restarted on Thursday, both teams were ready for action. The game was packed with physical play. Both teams played very well defensively. In a game of small scoring runs, the Devils withheld a late comeback attempt by the Billies to win 7 to 6.

The first quarter saw back and forth action. Both teams struggled to get anything going offensively. The play of South goalie Mike Quinlan ( 18 saves ) was the story of the day as the Red Devils had difficulty solving the junior netminder. However, Clarence's first goal came off a miscue by Quinlan on a failed clear attempt. The Red Devil's rides were quite effective throughout the day and this one led directly to the goal. Attackman Dan Barron ( 2g, 1a ) caught a suprised Quinlan behind the net. Barron knocked down the goaltenders attempted pass, scooped it up, and carried it out front for the score. The breakdown put Clarence up 1 to 0 halfway into the quarter.

The Billies fought back to tie it. South benefitted from two overly-aggressive Red Devil penalties and went on their extra man offense. South had several opportunities. Finally, midfielder Mike Glieco scooped up a shot that rebounded off Clarence goalie Ryan Duff ( 11 saves ) and popped it in the net to knot the game at one.

Clarence bounced back a couple minutes later on a big goal by Jordan Collins-Hartwig ( 2g, 1a ). Collins-Hartwig beat Quinlan off the left crease after a beautiful feed from Dan Barron. The goal made it 2 to 1 Devils, a lead that they held through the end of the quarter.

The Red Devils dominated most of the offensive play in the second quarter. However, Mike Quinlan played out-of-his-mind for much of it, collecting five saves, and slowly creeping into the heads of the Red Devil attack. With very few chances developing out of the offense, John Syty took matters into his own hands. Syty had one thing in mind as he powered towards the net from the midfield area, and that was to score. After splitting two defenders, Syty let a shot rip from about 10 yards out. The shot cleanly beat Quinlan, and the Devils built up a two goal lead.

The next goal came off another great individual effort. The play developed on a battle for a groundball in the midfield area. Sophomore middie Josh "Coast to Coast" Rawdin scooped it up and used his speed to run the ball into the South zone. Experiencing token resistance, Rawdin continued to power his way down the middle of the Billies defense. Just before the final slide developed, Rawdin cranked a running shot past the goaltender. The goal was big for the Red Devils, putting them in temporary command of the game.

However, with just over two minutes left in the half, the Billies' offense stormed back. Midfielder Aaron Mong beat Duff on a 10 yard rip fromthe right slot area. The shot was setup off a nice feed from Lou Cascino. The goal helped to swing the momentum back to a Billies squad whose emotional level seemed to be at a low point. The halftime score read; Clarence 4 and Williamsville South 2. An exciting second half was to come.

Coming off of back-to-back blowout games, Coach Silverstein and Warkenthien were concerned about the team's mental preparation going into the South game. It had been almost a full week since the big win over North, and both hoped that the Billies would provide a strong test for their Red Devils. Their wish was granted as both teams played a fine second half of lacrosse. The South D-poles of Walter, Erbacher and Brace did a great job during the game, limiting the potent Devil offense to bad angle shots, giving Quinlan space to make the save. On the other side, the Clarence D-poles of Robinson, Skura and Hoffman were equally impressive, limiting the South offense to 13 shots. The Devils controlled much of the midfield action, but again found it tough-going against the South goaltender.

South struck first in the third quarter as the Glieco brothers went to work on the Clarence defense. Attackman Joe Glieco found his brother Mike cutting through the confused Devil defense. The pass was perfect, and Mike quick-sticked it home for a big South goal. The emotion began to run high on both sides as the Billies began to mount their comeback bid.

With five minutes left in the third quarter, the Billies tied the score off the stick of Clarence transplant Joel Zangara. Zangara took a nice feed from Nate Lennert and fired it at the Clarence goal. Duff momentarily stopped the shot. However, the ball had a little too much on it, falling to the ground and slowly bouncing across the goal line.

Their have been several moments this season where Clarence has been guilty of undisciplined play at critical times in the game. However, it would be the Billies who would "snap" late in the third. After a three minute (unreleasable) unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was charged to South, the Clarence EMO went to work in hopes of taking the lead. The Devils found it extremely difficult to get one past Quinlan and the fired-up South defense. Finally, Dan Barron found an opening off the right slot area, firing a hard bounce shot into the net. Clarence took the lead into the fourth quarter at 5 to 4.

The fourth quarter was action-packed for both teams. Ryan Duff collected five big saves during this quarter to help hold back the Billies offensive onslaught. Clarence and Williamsville South both went on runs. Finally, the Devils had to stave-off a late rally by the Billies to help secure the game.

Going into the fourth, the all-important next goal loomed large for both teams. About five minutes into the final quarter, the Red Devils picked up a big score in transition. Collins-Hartwig made the play happen at the midfield, taking possession of the ball and firing into the Billies' zone. Jordan Zaprowski was there to bring in the pass as the defense struggled to settle in. Zap's bounce shot off the right slot was perfect, and Clarence built up a two goal lead. Clarence continued working hard, and it paid off minutes later on another goal from Collins-Hartwig. Dave Colicchia worked tirelessly throughout the game, feeding from the X position. Click found Jordan on a cut through the South defense, and Collins-Hartwig banged it home, building a much needed three goal cushion for the Red Devils.

Coach Szymendera and his Billies fought hard all day and were not about to roll over. South put together a late rally to make this one a nail-biter in the closing moments. Unfazed by the deficit, another Quinlan got into the act. Twin brother midfielder Dave Quinlan made a great penetrating dodge and bounced a nice shot past Duff to narrow the gap to two. Shortly after, excitement ran through both benches as South scored another. This time the goal came from attackman Nick Frangos. Frangos bounced a nice shot off the right slot from 10 yards out. Joe Glieco had the assist and it became a one goal game with just over two minutes remaining.

However, that would be as close as the Billies would get, as the Red Devil midfielders and defensemen shut down the remaining South attempts to score. With just over a minute left, Clarence defenseman Nick Hoffman made a big play on a groundball to regain possession and ice the win for Clarence. It was a nice effort by both teams. South played extremely hard, but came up one goal shy. For Clarence, it was a perfect game to help them re-focus after a pair of blowout wins. Hopefully the winning will continue into tomorrow's big game against West Seneca West. Come out an support the boys!