East bounces back, defends Clarence tourney title

Williamsville East's boys soccer team opened last week with a loss but finished by repeating as tournament champions.

The Flames, ranked third among Western New York large schools, dropped its league opener at Hamburg last Wednesday, 3-0. East (3-1, 0-1) followed with back-to-back wins over Kenmore East, 1-0 (5-4 in shootout), and Clarence, 3-0, to take top honors at the Clarence Booster Club Tournament last Thursday and Friday.

After playing well against Tonawanda on the previous Friday (won 6-0), East coach Ron Schumacher said his team was ready to play. Unfortunately, so was Hamburg.

"Hamburg outplayed and outhustled us for the win," said Schumacher. "Hamburg played aggressive soccer which prevented us from getting our game going. A rock hard field provided difficulties settling and passing the ball."

Schumacher said Hamburg's defense did not allow forwards Matt Kweller and Simon Park much opportunity to get shots off. Hamburg's offense applied pressure and eventually scored on Brian Wallden in the first half.

With another half of play, East was able to move the ball better and had more scoring opportunities, but none found the net.

"Our defense looked a little disorganized and Hamburg's aggressive play gave them more opportunities to finish," said Schumacher.

Two more Hamburg goals were scored before Wallden was pulled from the net to allow Ryan Dobos playing time.

With no time to practice, the only adjustments Schumacher made for the Clarence Tournament were with the defensive starters. Jay Winzenreid was moved from an outside defender to the middle. Middle defender Rashaun Durden moved to the outside and Joe Buran started in the place of Fernando Recio. This combination, along with Derek Frost, Colin Begy, Kevin Castine and Mac Noronha at midfield, and Park and Kweller at forward (Dobos was in goal), faced Section VI Class A champs Kenmore East last Thursday.

"We came out strong, played aggressively and had several great scoring opportunities," said Schumacher. "Kenmore East's goalie made several great saves and took away other potential scoring opportunities."

Schumacher said the reorganized defense played much better. Winzenreid held Kenmore East's best player, Anthony Johnson, to only one shot on net. Dobos made a point blank save in the first half.

Wallden started the second half; (Schumacher planned to share goaltending duties).

The game remained scoreless even though East dominated and had many more scoring chances. The game stayed scoreless and according to tournament rules, skipped overtime and went straight to penalty kicks.

Frost, Begy, Castine, and Justin Floss each scored for East in the first group of five. Each team had one miss. Park was the sixth shooter and scored. Wallden saved the next shot to his left to give East a 1-0 win.

On Friday, East faced Clarence for its third game in three days.

"I felt this game was an important marker for our success this season," said Schumacher. "We needed to play well and we had played hard Thursday in another 90-plus temperature day."

It took 21 seconds for East to score on the aggression and determination of Castine. On Clarence's opening kickoff, Castine rushed the defender, who kicked the ball off him, and he drilled a shot to the lower left corner of the net.

"That shocked Clarence and boosted our play," said Schumacher.

Schumacher said his team had won the coin toss and elected to have a strong breeze to their backs for the first half.

"If we scored a few goals, we would have gone into a defensive shell in the second half hoping to preserve a win," he said. "The defense played tight with the midfielders doubling up on the ball to create takeaways and mistakes We had some scoring opportunities but could not find the net."

Ahead 1-0, East was awarded a direct kick with 28 minutes remaining in the second half. Begy kicked the ball, with top spin, over the defensive wall of Clarence. The hard shot sailed into the net, just below the crossbar, for his second goal of the season, to give East a 2-0 lead.

With eight minutes left, Park, hustling to the goal, headed a ball over the goalie's arms for his third goal of the season.

"This win was a total team effort," said Schumacher. "With temperature well over 90, the bench saw playing time to give opportunity for the starters to hydrate and rest in the heat."

"This win gave us the confidence that it could compete against the best in Western New York," he added.