Lady Panthers end regular season strong
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter
One of the goals for Sweet Home this season was to finish with .500 record. After holding off Grand Island, 9-8, on Monday, May 14, the Lady Panthers have accomplished just that.

The win was the third in a row for Sweet Home, which closed out the regular season with a 7-7 record.

"We've definitely pulled it together," said Sweet Home coach Katie Tutak. "We're now playing at the level we should have been playing all year. Different players are scoring goals and recording assists and creating a lot of scoring opportunities."

Grand Island jumped out to a 3-0 first-half lead, but the Lady Panthers tied the score at 3-3. The score was 4-4 at halftime.

Laura Nerber was credited with the game-winning goal with five minutes remaining in the second half off an assist from Brooke Nieman.

"Brooke, normally a defensive wing, crossed into the offensive zone, drove to the net, pulled back, made a great pass to Laura and Laura had a fantastic shot in the upper left-hand corner of the net," said Tutak.

Nerber finished with three goals and one assist and was the team's ground ball leader with six. Marissa Kelly scored twice. Caitlin Colkitt, Jessica Louttit, Katie Mazuchowski and Rochelle Ricchiazzi also scored single goals. Colkitt, Kati Baird, Nieman and Sara Heron each had an assist.

Goalie Danielle Holloway made 13 saves. Sweet Home, seeded fourth, hosted fifth-seed Lake Shore in Section VI Class B quarterfinal on Tuesday, May 22, but the result was unavailable before The Bee went to press. Sweet Home beat Lake Shore twice during the regular season. The winner plays the winner of West Seneca East-Hamburg on Thursday, May 24. The Class B final is Thursday, May 31 at Amherst.

Colkitt leads Sweet Home with 27 goals and seven assists. Nerber is second with 19 goals and eight assists. Kelly has 13 goals and five assists. Ricchiazzi has 12 goals and six assists. Holloway has a 65.7 save percentage.

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com