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GREG MICHAELS GOES 4 AND 2 ON THE RED DEVILS
CLARENCE OUTHIT, OUTHUSTLED & OUTPLAYED BY QUAKERS
TUNDO AND LALLEY COMBINE FOR SIX ASSISTS

(CLARENCE) Kaboom!!! The sound resonated across the Clarence High School athletic fields. Was it another jarring hit by an OP midfielder? No, in this case it was the sound of the Devils' six-game win streak bubble bursting apart on Tuesday afternoon. Clarence was given a little taste of "big-time" lacrosse, as they were pounded by the visiting Orchard Park Quakers by the score of 15 to 2. The loss exposed a marked difference between the two programs. Although the Devils look to finish fourth in the league, the game revealed how far Clarence Lacrosse still must go before they are able to compete with an elite program like the Quakers. For much of the contest the Devils were completely outworked by the visitors. The Quakers paved their own road to victory, continually paying the price on every groundball opportunity. Clarence struggled in the clearing game, constantly turning the ball over to the relentless Quaker rides. A severe imbalance in time of possession made for an exhausted Clarence defense and lopsided score.

The game started off on the right foot for the Devils as Jordan Collins-Hartwig ( 1g, 1a ) scored the quickest goal in Clarence Lacrosse history. Collins-Hartwig won the opening faceoff and passed the ball into Quaker territory. Dave Colicchia fired a quick, hard shot that OP goalie Ryan Cole ( 4 saves ) had trouble handling. Collins-Hartwig went hard to the net, picking up the rebound, and then firing it in to put Clarence up 1 to 0 just ten seconds into the contest.

Undeterred, the Quakers went to work on the extra man offense after a Clarence slashing penalty. Midfielder Kevin Lalley ( 1g, 2a ) picked up the tally, firing a hard bounce shot past Devils goalie Ryan Duff ( 8 saves ), evening the score at one. OP scored another about a minute later, as sophomore Jeff Tundo ( 2g, 4a ) tapped in a pass off the right crease to make it 2 to 1. With just under three minutes left in the first quarter, Quaker middie Justin Maderer added another Orchard Park goal, firing a 15 yard bounce shot off the left slot past Duff to make it 3 to 1.

Clarence responded on their EMO after an illegal bodycheck penalty was charged to OP. Dan Barron again found an opening where their appeared to be none, bouncing a 15 yard shot off the right side to close it to 3 to 2.

Unfortunately for the Red Devils, Orchard Park responded to make it 4 to 2 with just two seconds remaining in the first. Senior attackman Greg Michaels ( 4g, 2a ) finished it off, catching the Clarence defense unsettled in their own zone. The transition goal put a serious dent in an otherwise decent first quarter for the Red Devils.

As the second quarter progressed Orchard Park's physical play slowly took its toll on the Red Devils. Clarence lapsed into some undisciplined play, collecting four penalties during the second. OP picked up their fifth goal of the day on the EMO as Tundo fired in a shot from about 15 yards off the right slot. Lalley was the setup man, picking up the assist.

Next, OP attackman Joe Jacobs got involved, scoring the next two goals of the game. His first goal came off a strange play. Michaels was involved in a dodge, then quickly passed the ball behind his back to Jacobs. The ball looked to be heading in the wrong direction before it glanced off a helmet into the stick of Jacobs. With no defenseman in the immediate area, Duff shot out of his crease to body up Jacobs. However, he arrived a little too late as Jacobs turned and slammed it home into the unguarded net. Jacobs finished off the first half scoring, getting his second of the day in transition. Once again, the Red Devil midfield failed to get back in time. Michaels fired over the pass to Jacobs who popped it in from 5 yards off the left crease area. Orchard Park had taken control at this point, winning any faceoffs and groundballs that came their way. The Quakers maintained possession for much of the second quarter.

A couple bright spots for the Red Devils throughout the contest were Dan Salvatore and Neal Stalker who battled tirelessly for groundballs. Salvatore showed a more physical style of play, very much needed against the quick, tough Quaker midfielders. Stalker used his unyielding energy to battle for a couple key groundballs.

The third quarter was an absolute nightmare for the Red Devils, as they never competed with Orchard Park in any facet of the game. The Quakers, never ones to forgive, rifled off seven unanswered goals during this span. Maderer started things off a minute into the third, bouncing a beautiful goal in from about 15 yards off the left slot. Mike Allaire added another moments later on a nice running shot as he drove down the right slot to beat both his defender and the goalie.

Jacobs picked up his third of the day midway into the quarter on a failed clear attempt by Duff. Tundo checked the ball away from the Duff as he tried to pass it to his defense. Tundo then picked up the loose ball and fired it in front to Jacobs for the put-in.

Michaels then went on a tear, scoring three goals in an elapsed time of one minute. Tundo set him up for the first one, passing the ball to the open attackman. Michaels ripped a 15 yard shot off the right slot to make it 12 to 2. Orchard Park won the faceoff and gained possession. This time Michaels scooped up a hard shot rebound and let her go from 15 yards off the left slot. Thirty seconds later, Michaels scored his fourth and final goal of the game five yards out off the front of the crease. The three goal barrage stretched the score to 13 to 2 in favor of the Quakers.

Drew Belica picked up the final goal in the third, cutting through the Clarence defense to pop home a nice pass from Tundo. Tundo created the play from the X, dodging back and forth and firing a perfect feed to Belica's stick. Tundo was dominant throughout the day, as he created a majority of Orchard Park's scoring opportunities.

The final quarter played out slowly as OP "called off the dogs" somewhat, taking less shots and working on setting up their reserve attackman. Clarence netminder Jeff Smith played well in the last 12 minutes, making four saves and relinquishing only one goal. The last OP score again came from Belica. Tundo once again found a cutting Belica in the crease area, quick-sticking it in to make it a 15 to 2 final.

The frustration shown on the tired faces of the Red Devils during the postgame handshake. They knew coming in that OP would be an incredible challenge. The program has dominated Section 6 lacrosse for the last couple decades. However, the Red Devils lacrosse program has achieved great things this past season. Games such as this will be used as a lesson to help make us better, as we are committed to making lacrosse an important sport in our community. This team continues to break new ground, and has been able to challenge themselves after difficult losses. The Red Devils finish the season with two non-leaguers. They take on Nichols this Thursday at 5:00 at CHS. The last regular season game will take place at Iroquois next Tuesday. An 8:00 pm game "under the lights." Hope to see our loyal fans out for the game. It has been a special year, and the boys appreciate the great support by both friends and family!