Lady Tigers win five of last seven
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

PUSH IT - Williamsville East senior Lea Milbrand goes for a loose ball against Wilson last Friday. East won 6-0. East hosts Newfane at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday in a Section VI Class B prequarterfinal game. Photo by Joe Eberle Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

Amherst Central's field hockey team heads into the Section VI Class "B" playoffs on a roll.

Since losing 1-0 to Lancaster on Oct. 1, Amherst has won five of its last seven games to finish 9-6-2 overall and 8-6-2 in Class "B."

The Lady Tigers beat Starpoint and Pioneer, 1-0, on Oct. 3 and 4; Williamsville East and Sweet Home, 2-1, on Oct. 10 and 12; and Buffalo Seminary, 8-0, last Thursday. Amherst's only recent blemishes were a 2-0 defeat at undefeated Williamsville North on Oct. 15 and a 2-0 loss on Oct. 17 at Holland.

"We played well with them," said Amherst coach Laurie LeGoff of the North game. "We had them 0-0 with 20 seconds left in the first half before they put in a goal. I was pleased with our team effort."

Chantae Miller scored both of North's goals, but LeGoff felt her team played good positional defense against her and the rest of the Lady Spartan lineup.

The game was called with under eight minutes to play in the second half after a high ball hit one of the kneecaps of Amherst junior goalie Erin Edson.

"Erin was trying to play the ball on a corner, and the ball lifted up and hit her between the pad and her kneecap," said LeGoff. "It caused us to get an ambulance for safety purposes just to make sure she was OK. It turned out to be just a deep bone bruise, but at the time I wasn't sure if she had fractured her kneecap. My main concern was for Erin's health and well-being, so we opted to conclude the game with eight minutes left in the game."

Edson had seven saves before the injury. Freshman JV call-up Jessica Banning was brought up for the Holland and Buffalo Seminary games and played well, LeGoff said. Banning recorded six saves against Holland and three versus Buffalo Seminary.

Edson's status for the playoffs is uncertain, but LeGoff said the team has great confidence in Banning that she can do an outstanding job if called upon.

LeGoff said the 2-0 loss to Holland was not indicative of how her team actually played.

"We dominated ball possession in the first half and had about four or five corners we did not play evened out, but we could not get it past their goalie."

The Lady Tigers rebounded against Buffalo Seminary, jumping out to a 4-0 halftime advantage. It was senior day and the Amherst seniors responded with a great game, scoring seven of the team's eight goals.

Seniors Alana Madrid (two goals, three assists), Robin McDonald (two goals, assist), Morgan Felgemacher (two goals) and Katie Erbacher (goal, two assists) all contributed to the scoring; Sarah Hunt and Meghan Wright generated a great deal of attack, LeGoff said.

Juniors Carolyn Sobol (goal) and Abby Muraco (two assists) also chipped in toward the scoring.

"It was good to recognize the seniors and their families and enjoy a great team performance," said LeGoff.

"I'm proud of all of our seniors," she added. They've been leaders on and off the field."

In earlier games, Madrid (junior Jordan Aprile) tied Williamsville East at the 20-minute mark of the first half, and McDonald scored the game-winner from sophomore Katrina McQuiggan and Hunt halfway through the second half.

LeGoff said Erbacher, Muraco and Sobol did an outstanding job controlling play in the midfield. Edson made four saves.

McQuiggan scored both of Amherst's goals against Sweet Home. Madrid and McDonald assisted on her first goal; McDonald helped out on the second goal.

Sweet Home applied pressure in the last seven minutes, including a goal by Emily Tolnay with three minutes left, but could not get the equalizer. Edson made eight saves; most of them came in the latter part of the second half. LeGoff said.

Madrid leads the team with 12 goals and nine assists followed by McDonald (six goals, 10 assists), Erbacher (goal, seven assists) and Felgemacher (three goals, assist). Eight different Amherst players have scored; 10 have an assist.

Amherst, seeded third in the Section VI Class "B" playoffs, hosts either Kenmore East or East Aurora at 3 p.m. on Friday in a quarterfinal game.

"We're looking forward to continuing our strong play as the playoffs begin," said LeGoff.

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com