Boys Lacrosse
Sweet Home, Williamsville East fall to Hamburg
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Sweet Home and Williamsville East found out last week that the team to beat in Section VI Class B boys lacrosse so far this spring is Hamburg.

Hamburg, ranked 15th in New York State, defeated Sweet Home, 15-8, and East, 16-4, in home games We d n e s d a y, April 25 and Friday, April 27.

"They were the best team I've played so far," said Sweet Home coach John Faller. "They were faster, had great ball movement and took good shots."

"They were much better than us on that day," added East coach Ed Greenway. "But I know we can play better than what we did."

Faller said Hamburg's midfield, led by Joe Resetarits' six goals, was the difference. Colin Cardinale's four goals and Sean Burns' two goals and two assists led the Panthers. Jim Cardinale grabbed 10 ground balls. Goalie Chris Lyon made 10 saves.

Greenway said his team, which handed Hamburg its only regular season league loss last year, fell behind 10-0 by halftime. East scored four straight goals early in the third quarter - two from Andrew Ross and single tallies by Joe Schriever and Mike Faltisco - but Hamburg scored six straight times to close out the game.

"We responded to early adversity but couldn't sustain it," said Greenway.

In addition, the Flames only scooped up 24 total ground balls and were 1 of 5 in man-up situations.

"You need at least 50 ground balls to win," said Greenway. "That means you know you have possession."

Resetarits was held to a goal and two assists in the first half and three goals and two assists overall. Jon Domres added three goals and two assists.

Austin Weil added two assists and Schriever had an assist for East.

East goalie Matt Bradley made six saves in the second half.

Sweet Home and East also faced Lake Shore with each team winning big at home. East won 16-1, on Monday, April 23. Sweet Home had a 17-6 victory on Friday, April 27.

Andrew Duggan led East with two goals and five assists. Weil and Ross each scored three goals and contributed one assist. Derek Frost scored three times. Ryan Newell, Austin Zaprowski and Peter Duggan tallied their first career varsity goals.

Defensively, Greenway liked the work from Schriever, Brad Teal and Rashawn Durden.

"We wanted to set the tone and we did," said Greenway. "We wanted to be aggressive on ground balls and we must have picked up twice as many."

Ryan Sheehan and Bradley combined for six saves.

Ten Panthers scored against Lake Shore for Sweet Home's first league victory. Burns and Chris Covel led the way with three goals and one assist. Matt Zon scored three goals, Nick Cavalieri chipped in two goals, and James Cardinale, Eric Danheiser, Rich Beaudet, Colin Cardinale and Lyon each scored once.

East's second game of the week was a disappointing 11-10 home loss to Grand Island on April 25. The Flames were ahead 10-7 with 1:20 remaining in regulation when a number of defensive breakdowns combined with East not scooping up any ground balls led the Vikings to tie the game then win it with 29 seconds left on a goal by Colin Gallagher. Gallagher picked up a rolling ball that went through three East defenders, faked Sheehan high and shot low.

"We haven't faced adversity like that and the only way to experience it is to unfortunately go through it," said Greenway. "It's something to build on."

The game went back and forth. East fell behind 2-1 after the first quarter and led 5-3 at halftime. However, the Flames gave Grand Island momentum heading into the fourth quarter when Phil Wendt scored an unassisted goal with four seconds remaining in the third that cut the Vikings' deficit to 8-6. Wendt finished with two goals and three assists.

Andrew Duggan again had two goals and five helpers to lead East. Faltisco and Teal each scored twice. Ross had a goal and two assists. Sheehan made nine saves.

The Flames scored eight of its 10 goals in man-up situations.

East (6-4, 2-2) played at Lancaster on April 30 and West Seneca East on May 1 but results were unavailable before The Bee went to press. East concludes a four-game road trip at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 4 at Lockport.

"In order to be successful we need to play well as a team and drive home the point that hard work will allow us to win," said Greenway.

Sweet Home's other game was an 11-7 win at East Aurora on April 23. Sweet Home led 8-3 at halftime. Colin Cardinale (four goals, two assists) and Covel (three goals, assist) led the Panthers attack. Lyon made 12 saves.

Sweet Home (6-5, 1-2) played at Amherst on Tuesday but results were unavailable before The Bee went to press. They play at 5 p.m., Thursday, May 3 at Grand Island.

"We're about where we should be," said Faller. "When we're playing well, we're sharing the ball and getting contributions from our attack and middies. But they've got to start coming into our own. We've played 11 games. It's not like they don't know what to do. It comes down to who wants it more."

Colin Cardinale leads all Panthers with 30 points (18 goals, 12 assists). Burns (13 goals, 10 assists) and Covel (16 goals, five assist) round out the team's top three in scoring. Taylor Heald leads all Sweet Home midfielders with 10 goals and one assist.

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com