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Wildcats
Whip Warriors 15-4
The defending State Champion West Genesee Wildcats continued
in their quest to defend their crown and appear to be
hitting on all cylinders at just the right time. The 'Cats
put on a clinic at the expense of Section 5's Webster
Schroeder Warriors by running away with a 15-4 victory
to advance to their 16th title game appearance.
For the first four minutes of the contest both teams sized
each other up with patient testing of each others defenses
with each team having opportunities but failing to draw
first blood and gain the upper hand. In what is almost
becoming routine this season, it was the Wildcat opposition
that once again stuck first. Warrior attackman BJ Linder
broke from his defender cutting from behind the cage and
while diving across the crease placed a rolling shot past
Rotella at the 7:20 mark. The raucous Warrior faithful
had a reason to celebrate albeit only for the moment as
24 seconds later game MVP Bill Gleason ripped his first
goal of the day past Warrior goalie Brian Hondorf to even
the contest. Rotella thwarted an attempt from point-blank
range with a great stop at the 4:53 mark as Webster hardly
got a clean look until the second half. Webster was very
patient in their attempt to crack the Genny defense by
working the ball around the outside looking for anng
that didn't come as the Genny close defense threw a noose
around any attempt to penetrate. With 1:31 left, Junior
middie Alex Bily blasted a hard right-hander from 10 yards
out to put the Wildcats up 2-1. The 'Cats never looked
back.
The second quarter saw Gleason notch his second goal of
the day two minutes into the period and the virtual mental
collapse of the Warriors. Webster's attempt to pack at
tight zone around the cage daring the 'Cats to shoot from
outside temporarily stopped the bleeding. The quarter
was played primarily in the Webster zone as the Wildcats
ratcheted up the intensity and the Warriors shot themselves
in their own foot on numerous occasions. The Genny ride
and defensive pressure caused all kinds of havoc as the
Warriors bumbled through errant passes, off sides calls
and weak clearing attempts. The tandem of Bill Gleason
and Matt Cassalia dominated the "X" allowing
West Genesee to maintain ball control. The Wildcats finally
found the solution to the tight zone and aided by crisp
ball movementd the floodgates on the Warriors. At
the 6:11 mark, Andrew Hanover found Jed Bebee alone on
the doorstep ready and willing to accept and deposit the
package with a quick shot past Hondorf. One minute later
senior defensive ace Cheney Raymond stepped across the
middle and stole a futile Webster attempt at clearing
the ball and made them pay dearly by taking it all the
way to paydirt and a 5-1 Wildcat lead. The rout was then
on and the "Chop Chant" silenced. Hanover again
was the bearer of gifts when he found Bebee and junior
Alex Bily with two consecutive goals to push the margin
to 6. Junior Jake Moulton finished off a nice hard-charging
10-yarder from the left side at the 2:49 mark and Bebee
tallied his 3rd of the day with 26 ticks remaining to
end the half with 'Cats up 9-1.
The third quarter again saw a defensive struggle for two
thirds of the period as the hard-hitting Webster defensive
unit made the 'Cats work for their every attempt. Webster
finally broke the Genny onslaught with a goal from Mike
Catalino to narrow the lead to 9-2. Hopkins-bound senior
Drew Dabrowski threw ice water on the short-lived Webster
celebration as Hanover again served up a nice pass ending
with a easy dump-in 14 seconds later. Hanover found himself
in the right place at the right time as he picked up his
first goal off a rebound for an uncontested short shot
from the left side of the crease. With 1:17 to go, BJ
Linder then added to the Warrior total with a 10-yard
left-hand shot to the 5-hole on Rotella to cut the lead
to 11-3.
The fourth quarter saw a continuance of Webster mental
errors as Wildcat grit and determination continued to
prevail. The first goal of the stanza came as Dabrowski
found Hanover alone and then buried a 15 yard shot at
the 8:53 mark to put the 'Cats up 12-3. Net-minder Casey
Rotella was sharp as ever as he again put a clamp on the
Warrior efforts with a wonderful man-down situation save.
One minute later the ever gracious Hanover delivered an
exceptional under-handed pass to a streaking Bill Gleason
who placed a nice right-hand shot in the top right corner.
At 5:52 Messere called off the dogs and rested his starters
for the inevitable championship game on Saturday. Webster
Schroeder registered their last gasp with a bounce shot
which threaded the only sliver of space senior goalie
Brian Cummings offered up to cut the Cat lead to 13-4.
Middie Michael-Paul Solamon registered his first goal
on his future home turf at St. John Fisher by finding
a loose ball in front of the cage and promptly flicking
it in for a 14-4 Wildcat advantage. The icing on the cake
was provided by junior Tom Donahue who placed an
net shot from 20 yards out as time was expiring. Now the
Wildcat Nation eyes another prize...a unprecedented 12th
State Championship.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
final |
| West Genesse |
2 |
7 |
2 |
4 |
15 |
| Webster Schroeder |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
| Gleason 3-0, Bily 2-0, Hanover 2-4,
Bebee 3-0, Raymond 1-0, Moulton 1-0, Dabrowski 1-3,
Solamon 1-0, Donahue 1-0, Derrigo 0-1, McCormack
0-1 SAVES: Rotella 7, Cummings 1 |
| Click
on an image below to view a game highlight Quicktime
movie |
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| Bill Gleason tallies one of his 3 goals. |
Dabrowski makes it look easy with a
gift from Hanover. |
The Genny defense stuffed the Warriors. |
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| Bebee from short range courtesy of Dabrowski. |
Raymond makes the Warriors pay. |
Solamon returns a loose ball to its
rightful place. |
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