I'll be live at today's Far West Regionals in boys lacrosse at Canisius College, while Reporter Jay Skurski will be updating me with the results of the regional games at Niagara Falls High School. Here's my story from today taking a look at the games.
The lacrosse action begins at 3:30 p.m. with the Class B game between Hamburg and Irondequoit; that's followed by Silver Creek vs. Aquinas in Class C at 5:30 and Orchard Park against Fairport in Class A at 8.
The three softball games at Niagara Falls begin at 4 p.m. with the Class A game between Amherst and Pittsford-Mendon; the Class B game is at 5 (Olean vs. Mynderse) on an adjacent field with the AA tilt between Clarence and Fairport at 6.
The D (Panama vs. Bolivar-Richburg at 4 p.m.) and C (Westfield-Gananda at 6 p.m.) softball regionals are being held at Scio, about 35 miles east of Olean. We'll pass on results of those games as soon as we hear anything.
We'll provide updates as soon as we can -- just hit that refresh button.
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For anyone headed to the lacrosse games, I will have raffle tickets that benefit the Tom Borrelli Memorial Fund. Just yell at me when I'm running around after I do interviews or come up to the press box. Tickets are $5 each and your three-digit number gives you an entry in a daily drawing for the entire month of July.
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3:37 p.m. We're underway with the Class B game at Canisius College - scoreless through the first four minutes.
3:38 p.m. Two back-to-back big saves early by Hamburg goalie James Maxwell about 4:30 in.
3:41 p.m. Irondequoit's Greg Coholan hits a post -- Hamburg gets a ground ball, recovers after a dropped ball and takes a timeout with 5:32 left in the first.
3:45 p.m. Our first goal of the game is a man-up goal by Irondequoit, as senior Mike Utz slams in a line drive from the left side off a behind-the-cage feed from sophomore Nick Doktor. Irondequoit leads,1-0, with 3:46 left in the first.
3:50 p.m. Irondequoit has several more chances, but Hamburg checks help send a few of them wide and Maxwell makes a couple of saves, including a one-on-one stop on Utz.
3:51 p.m. At the END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, Irondequoit leads Hamburg, 1-0.
3:57 p.m. Irondequoit calls a timeout with 8:12 left in the second quarter -- Hamburg turned the ball over but the Bulldogs have played solid defense and Irondequoit hardly has had any shots. Utz is down on the sideline, lying face-first and getting treatment to a hamstring I believe. He gets back up after the treatment and his helmet is back on.
4 p.m. Irondequoit goes up, 2-0, on an unassisted goal by Doktor, who came from behind the right side of the cage, wheeled around and fired past Maxwell.
4:05 p.m. Hamburg's first goal is a cool one as longstick Shawn Needham clears the ball, then takes advantage of the defense failing to come to him, so he speeds in on goal and scores on the near side past sophomore goalie Ryan Jurek for a 2-1 game with 3:34 left.
4:06 p.m. Irondequoit wins the faceoff behind senior Justin Buonomo and calls a timeout with 3:25 left in the second quarter.
4:08 p.m. Maxwell makes a great save, feeds senior defensive middie Patrick Eagen for a clear and Hamburg calls a timeout with 2:30 left in the second quarter.
4:15 p.m. We are at HALFTIME and Hamburg and Irondequoit are tied at 2-2.
Hamburg tied the game with 1:13 left after it had a two-man advantage following two 1-minute slash calls. Senior Adam Dings, on the right side, took a pass from senior Ryan Feuerstein and Dings whipped the ball into the left side of the cage.
Irondequoit had a good chance after winning the next faceoff but Doktor's shot from the right side went off the near pipe.
A high quality game in which the teams seemed to feel each out early in long, patient offensive sets, and key possessions prompting good timeouts from coaches as they try to best manage the game.
4:24 p.m. Ryan Feuerstein wins the opening faceoff of the second half and has a bounce shot from the right side carom up off the far post.
4:28 p.m. On a man-up opportunity that Hamburg was very upset with after a technical push call, Utz rips a shot from the left side after a skip pass (basketball term) from Greg Coholan, a junior middie, with 9:53 left in the third quarter.
4:29 p.m. Hamburg strikes right back to tie the game at 3-3 with 9:01 left as Ryan Feuerstein charges up the center and scores unassisted.
4:31 p.m. Irondequoit takes advantage of a Hamburg turnover and calls a timeout in transition with 7:36 left in the third. Really early to take a timeout in a close game, thinks the press box.
4:33 p.m. Irondequoit takes a 4-3 lead on a great goal by Utz, who scores on a low shot while falling to the turf afer some hard work. 7:14 left in the third.
4:37 p.m. Hamburg ties it at 4-4 with 4:31 left when sophomore middie Ryan Jurek picked up an errant pass through the middle by senior attack Josh Kerr -- right-place, right-time for a one-on-one goal.
4:44 p.m. Irondequoit goes up again, 5-4, with 33.7 seconds left as sophomore middie Ian Brooks scores from the left side off a pass by Coholan, who ran right and passed across to the left.
4:46 p.m. At the END OF THE THIRD QUARTER, Irondequoit leads Hamburg, 5-4.
4:54 p.m. Big-time goal by Utz, who runs around the restraining box and whips a laser in for a 6-4 lead with 7:39 left in the game.
4:54 p.m. Utz with another laser. Big time stuff here. This one is from the left side off an assist by big junior Emmy Poccia from behind the left side of the cage. Irondequoit leads, 7-4, with 7:12 remaining.
4:57 p.m. The lead is 8-4 after Nick Doktor walks in on an open goal as Hamburg goes to a ride in which Maxwell is out of the goal defending. Big decision there to go to that ride, maybe a game-ender. Timeout, Hamburg with 5:41 left. Hamburg took an earlier timeout -- with 8:48 left in the fourth -- so they are done for the game.
5:03 p.m. Irondequoit calls a timeout with 2:16 left in the game and the lead appears secure. Hamburg had a man-up opportunity, but a blocked shot helped give possession to Irondequoit and it cleared the ball.
5:08 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Irondequoit 8, Hamburg 4.
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5:43 p.m. We're about to start the Class C game.
5:49 p.m. Silver Creek scores on a strong move to the cage by Cam Seneca, who surged in from the left side for a dip-and-dunk and a 1-0 lead -- which might mark the first time Section VI has held a lead in the Class C regional round.
5:50 p.m. Aquinas ties it at 1-1 on a goal by senior middie Brendan Hall off a pass by senior attack Austin Gorman from behind the cage with 6:35 left in the first.
5:52 p.m. Silver Creek up, 2-1, after a nice fast-break finish by Zack Williams off a seal and a pass from Zed Williams.
5:55 p.m. Gorman scores to tie it at 2-2 with 4:34 left in the first.
5:57 p.m. Silver Creek takes the lead again on a slick sidearm bounce shot by Zed Williams off an assist from Zack Williams with 3:05 left.
5:59 p.m. Aquinas ties it again at 3-3 after a Gorman goal off a feed from Klay Heston with 2:15 left; it adds a goal 16 seconds later when Heston scored off a Gorman feed right off a won faceoff for the Little Irish. Aquinas leads Silver Creek, 4-3, with 1:59 left in the first.
6:05 p.m. At the END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, Aquinas leads Silver Creek, 5-3. Anthony Bianchi finished a behind-the-cage feed from Gorman with 34.6 seconds left.
6:28 p.m. My apologies on the lack of updates -- been taking care of a bunch of things. We are at HALFTIME and Silver Creek leads Aquinas, 7-5.
A super finish for Aquinas, which got a literal last-second shot from Zed Williams to gain a two-goal lead. He picked up a loose ball about 15 yards out and released it with 0.4 seconds left -- the goal beat the horn in an outstanding play for the Black Knights. I just checked the Time Warner Cable SportsNet monitors and the goal was good. Great play for Silver Creek.
Silver Creek owned the quarter, 4-0. Zack Williams scored an unassisted goal with 10:55 left; Levi Jones scored on a solo rush 45 seconds later. With 5:24 left, Zack Williams scored on a great quick-stick catch-and-shoot in traffic right in front of the cage off a pass from John Jimerson, who was behind the cage to the right. That gave the Black Knights a 6-5 lead that it appeared would be it for the half before the horn-beater by Zed Williams.
6:37 p.m. We have started the second half in what is already the best performance by a Section VI team in the history of the Class C regionals. This round has always seen a powerful Penn Yan program toy with the Section VI team.
6:41 p.m. Aquinas quickly ties it up with two goals 33 seconds apart -- first it was Jake Vogl scoring off a feed from Klay Heston; then Heston scored unassisted to tied it at 7-7 with 8:21 left in the third.
6:43 p.m. Silver Creek scores on an unassisted goal by Zack Williams right off the face off with 8:12 left; Aquinas ties it at 8-8 with a Anthony Bianchi goal off another Gorman assist.
6:48 p.m. Two nice plays by Silver Creek give it a 10-8 lead. First, John Jimerson picks off a pass just inside midfield with Aquinas goalie Erich Wischmeyer well out of the goal on a clearing attempt -- Jimerson then finds Cam Seneca, who fired it in the an empty cage with 5:47 left. With 5:15 left, SC scored on an extra-man opportunity as Zed Williams scored on the right doorstep after a fantastic pass zinged through the defense by Zack Williams.
6:52 p.m. Aquinas cuts it to 10-9 on an unassisted line drive straight out from Heston with 2:21 left in the third.
6:56 p.m. At the END OF THE THIRD QUARTER, we are tied at 10-10. Gotta love it. Aquinas tied it with 46.7 seconds left on a goal by Heston from Vogl.
7:01 p.m. We're tied at 11-11 as Cam Seneca scored off a pretty Zed Williams feed with 10:12 left; Aquinas had taken its first lead since the first quarter on a goal by Heston with 10:27 left.
7:02 p.m. Aquinas up 12-11 after Bianchi finishes a Gorman assist in front of the cage with 9:17 left.
7:03 p.m. Aquinas gets a ground ball in its own end after a nice save by Wischmeyer against Zed Williams -- 8:48 left in the game.
7:06 p.m. Heston scores his sixth goal of the game with 8:06 left -- Aquinas has a two-goal lead for the first time since the first quarter as they lead 13-11.
7:09 p.m. Gorman extends the lead to 14-11 with a goal off a pass from Heston -- there is 5:40 to go.
7:14 p.m. Aquinas survived an EMO by Silver Creek, which just picked up a ground ball and called a timeout with 2:35 left in the game.
7:17 p.m. A save by Wischmeyer sends Aquinas to the Silver Creek end, where the Little Irish play keep away and their fans shake their milk cartons full of crud to make some noise. We're under a minute left.
7:19 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Aquinas beats Silver Creek, 14-11. Great job by the Black Knights for a best-ever Class C game from Section VI.
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7:57 p.m. We're about to start our final game of the day -- player introductions are going on for the A game.
8:01 p.m. OP starts quickly as senior middie Matt Wilson won the opening faceoff, then put in a rebound for a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game. Fairport scores on a rebound to tie it when Tim Modesti batted in a ball that he had dropped with 8:04 left in the first quarter.
8:09 p.m. Fairport and goalie Blaze Riorden are staring into the sun, which is setting right behind the OP goal. OP has taken a couple of long-ish shots but Riorden has stopped them.
8:17 p.m. At the END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, Fairport leads Orchard Park, 2-1. The Red Raiders scored with 6.3 seconds left when they took advantage of a poor clearing attempt and Brendan Saylor came around from the left side of the cage to score.
8:21 p.m. Fairport went up, 3-1, with 10:38 left in the second after Saylor goes up-and-under on Owens after a great fast-break clear and long pass from Brian Martin. OP cut it to 3-2 with Wilson's second goal of the game, a bounce shot off a burst down the left side with 9:37 left.
8:26 p.m. James Manilla scores an unassisted goal on the left side with 6:55 left in the second quarter and Fairport is up, 4-2.
8:32 p.m. Fairport takes a timeout with 3:23 left in the second owning a 4-2 lead and most of the play. The sun has gone down and the lights have begun to come on here at the Demske Sports Complex.
8:35 p.m. Fairport goes up, 5-2, on a nice play by Martin Manilla, who dodges in front and scores with 2:49 left in the half. That goal sends a Red Raider mascot up and down the sideline here waving a big red flag with a big white 'F' on it. Nice job in the mascot department by Fairport. I don't see any Opie from OP here.
8:37 p.m. OP calls a timeout with 45.6 seconds left -- a call that is being disputed by the Fairport sideline.
8:41 p.m. We are at HALFTIME and Fairport leads Orchard Park, 5-2.
8:53 p.m. Back to the action. OP needs to change the way it is playing if it wants to win this game. I have some typing to do for my story for the paper so the updates might be a little more sporadic.
9:02 p.m. Fairport up 7-2 with 3:06 left in the third quarter, prompting a timeout by OP. Chris Button scored on an assist by Saylor with 4:45 left; Martin scored as he ran in from the right side off a feed from Martin Manilla. That possession was set up by a nice save by Riorden and a super cleary by Chris Benza to Martin.
Definitely writing my story now. Looks like the first sweep for Section V over Section VI since 2007 and just the second sweep in the last 12 years.
9:12 p.m. At the END OF THE THIRD QUARTER, Fairport has an 8-3 lead on Orchard Park. Ben Johnson scored of an assist from Sean Purtill for OP's goal with 1:24 left in the third.
9:23 p.m. With 5:03 left in the game, Fairport is up, 10-3, and Orchard Park is getting being called for a steady stream of penalties as the Quakers are definitely frustrated with having its season come to and end.
9:31 p.m. Mass substitutions for Fairport, which is up, 10-4, with 1:24 left after a goal by OP's Trevor Vargo.
9:32 p.m. Fairport doing the St. Joe's "I believe that we have won" chant. Doesn't have the same charm when a bunch of parents do it. Just saying.
9:33 p.m. Ben Johnson scores for OP with 1 second on the clock.
9:34 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Fairport 10, Orchard Park 5. Gotta write.
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Here are some additional quotes from Tuesday's games:
Irondequoit coach Craig Whipple:
"We felt good about the way things were going, and we hit so many pipes … I told the guys
to keep shooting. We thought we could get that two- three-goal spurt, and we did.
"We are very proud to be the Western Region champions and it's something our program is very proud of, but our focus has been on a
three-game tournament. We're glad to get this first step, we're on to the second and hopefully
we can get to that third."
Silver Creek coach Bill Brennan:
"It was a blessing in disguise with that loss (17-6 in last year's regionals to Penn Yan) because we at
least had our feet wet and we knew what to expect. We didn't want to take anything lightly to
get here. Getting was tough, Eden (in the sectional final) was tough."
Aquinas senior Austin Gorman:
"[Silver Creek is] definitely a lot different from the teams we've been playing in Rochester. They're
definitely a box [lacrosse-style] team, with box picks … our defense did an unbelievable job
with the picks. Their [zone] defense is a little bit different. It was a high scoring game on
both ends … we just had a couple more than they did, but they played great."
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If you attend any of the games, let us know how it went and what you thought of the action.
We'll talk about all the regionals and the Section VI representatives' chances at states this weekend during Wednesday evening's live chat at 9:45.
---Keith McShea
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