On Thursday the 3rd of June, Greece Thunder LAX purpled the party room at Ridgemont Country Club for the annual awards banquet. Dinner was eaten while prizes were raffled and Chris "Beads" Caracci proceeded to thank her army of volunteers for all of their hard work and efforts on behalf of the Thunder Lacrosse program this past year, with a box of tissues nearby. She then begrudgingly handed the mic over to yours truly to do the honors introducing a most distinguished guest speaker, Rob Weilert, who was skyped in from FLA by Kim Cheese over webex. Can I get a round of applause for Chris for her tremendous leadership and drive to put Thunder Lacrosse on the map? Those beads are pretty powerful !!!
Rob is a Thunder LAX alum and former Modified coach who followed the gravy train south to Florida a year ago to teach the next generation of hanging chads. A consummate speaker and legend in his own mind, Rob is a pretty tough act to follow, and this year's opus was no exception. He addressed the masses on hand in the ballroom thanking everyone for keeping him in the loop and congratulating the coaches and players on a rather successful season across the board. Troubled by the news of yet another failed budget in Greece, Rob knew their was little hope of seeing thunder playing on their own turf field anytime soon. And so, he offered his vision of how we could one-up all the other area programs with their fancy turf fields and brand new stadiums, by employing state of the art remote coaching technology. "You think you are all that with your new stadium and turf field, well check this out - as a big flat screen is wheeled out onto the field with Weilert appearing larger than life - we have a coach who doesn't even live here, so top that." Then Weilert would start coaching the boys remotely as the opponent hung their heads knowing they were beaten.
Mod captains thanked their coaches and then turned the floor over to Coach Bringley who in turn thanked his assistants, announced his players, and handed out the team awards. MVP went to Rick Lipani, MIP went to Tim Vera, and Coaches Award went to Ethan Morangon. Bringley also commented on how he found a Syracuse LAX sticker on Mr Testa's classroom door at school and figured that was a good place to start looking for help!
JV captains Jake/Joe/Keenan/Kenny recognized Tom Heaton with a scrabook of thank yous from the players, thanked their coaches and then turned things over to Coach Gangarosa who went on to thank his legions of JV supporters from Dave Allen who was his assistant coach to Al Testa who also helped out from time to time, to team moms Carm Crowe and Renee "Crocker" Mahoney who were directly responsible for the team gaining weight during the season, to Tom heaton for taking pictures and maintaining the website all season. Javier Jones was the MIP, Anthony "AC" Crawford was the MVP, and Keenan Mahoney received the Coaches Award.
Varsity captains Brandon Cheeseman, Dan Conway, and Dan Vyverberg thanked their coaches and commented how much they had learned on a position specific basis from having dedicated offensive, defensive, and goaltending coaches who were alumni of the program that had come back to work with the players on a daily basis. Coach Perry came up and thanked Kim Heaton for the wonderful program book and Lisa Bucklin for coordinating the JMJ tournament participation, and Wendy Bonis for coordinating the anthem singers, and yours truly for color commentary at the Varsity games and in the Wes Report.
Perry went on to play a little numbers game.
30 - the collective number of wins for mod, JV, and Varsity as they each hit double digits with 10 wins apiece. it was also worth noting that only 13 out of 35 varsity teams in Section V had 10 or more wins.
6.3/8.1/8.9/11.8 - average goals per game 2007-2010. showing steady improvement in offense. also noteworthy is that we gave up only 9 goals a game on average this year so we outscored our opponents.
52 - number of goals scored this season by Dan "Vyper" Vyverberg, surpassing previous record set by Nate Wallenhorst back in 2008
440 - number of ground balls Brandon "Cheese" Cheeseman picked up in his Thunder LAX career. The cheese stands alone in this category having scooped 170 in 2008 alone.
Varsity Team Awards
Tough to pick an MVP given the numerous outstanding performances in net, on D, and on offense this year. So, coaches went with a best hustle award instead
- Best Hustle went to Jared Sangiorgi
- MIP was cosidered over a 2-year span and went to Zach Rudgers
- Coaches Award went to Nick Materise.
Scholar Athlete awards
- Vyper, Cheese, Materise, Caracci, Hostetter, Wyzykowski, and Sangiorgi.
Special recognition of tireless dedication
- Team manager Dwayne Austin.
Thunder garnered 3 of 16 possible 1st team all county awards, 3 of 16 possible 2nd team awards and 1 honorable mention out of a pool of 160 players in the MC3 division.
- First team offense went to Vyper
- First team midi went to Tyler Giorgione
- First team defense went to Cheese (first 3-peat in pgm history)
- Second team offense went to Matt Keough
- Second team defense went to Tyler Lepore
- Second team faceoff midi went to Gino Prestigiacomo
- Honorable Mention went to Zach Rudgers
GO THUNDER LACROSSE
ONE TEAM ~~ONE FIGHT~~ONE FAMILY
Friday, July 2, 2010
GTLAX Game Report - May 28 @ Penfield (QF)
With a program best 10-6 regular season record, the Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder Boys Lacrosse team earned themselves the #6 seed to the 2010 Section Five Class A Tournament, which landed them a spot in the quarterfinals against the #3 seeded Penfield Patriots (seeds 7 thru 10 had to win an out bracket game to get in). While it was a good feeling advancing directly to the quarters on our regular season play, it was not a very good feeling taking an 18-4 beating on the brand new turf field at Penfield High School and bowing out early once again. What are we doing wrong? All over the county there are turf fields popping up and we can't even pass a budget. Does anyone know Mr. Golisano?
For a quarter and a half, the men in purple were mesmerized, as the Patriots took the lead with eight consecutive fancy finishes. And then a little voice was heard down in Thunder-who-ville. Why it was little Tyler-Giorgionne-who, dodging a longpole, stepping in and burying an overhand rip to stop the bleeding at the 7:10 mark in the second. Apparently, Thunder did not apply enough pressure though, as the bleeding started right back up and the Patriots racked up eight more unanswered before the end of the third.
Steve Cole (1s/2ga/12mins) came in to relieve Zach Rudgers (4s/16ga/36mins) for the final twelve, which Thunder managed to win 3-2, on goals by Andrew Prestigiacomo, Anthony Crawford, and Dan Vyverberg (1g-1a), as the clock ran. A-Pres' goal was unassisted as he drove from top of the box, dodged the D and finished @ 9:30 in 4th to wake everyone up. Then along came freshman Anthony Crawford, wasting no time netting his first varsity goal, in this his varsity debut, with a snipe over the Patriots keeper's shoulder, assisted by Vyper with a feed from X. Vyper would eventually get his own on a fast break from Cheese with just 16 secs to go in the game. And so, Thunder finishes a respectable 10-7, as Penfield moves on to the semifinals.
Thunder may have lost the game, but they won a lot of respect. Take Brandon Cheeseman who led both teams with 9gb in the contest and laid out two Patriots with shoulder checks, one being the Pats keeper, Jamie Solomon, wandering into Thunder territory, ball in tow. Cheeseman went to the box for unnecessary roughness both times, but these were not cheap hits, it was simply a matter of height/weight ratios. And then there was midfielder Joe Trimboli (5gb), barrelling down field and steamrolling everyone in his path like a train truck a rollin all nite long. Ryan "Yao-Ming" Walsh was up from JV for his varsity debut and made some solid contibutions legging the ball downfield along with Keenan Mahoney (5gb) who was pulled up several games ago to bolster the depleted varsity D-corps.
Scoring leaders for Penfield were 22-Alex Miles (5g-1a), 10-Tucker Nelson (4g), and 4-Dan O'Brien (3g-2a). Playing well in (and out of) the cage for Penfield was Jamie Solomon (5s/1ga/36mins). Although, Penfield would eventually fall to Pittsford in the semifinals, ironically on the short end of the same 18-4 score they handed Thunder in the quarters. Perhaps we'll get another crack at 'em next year!
For a quarter and a half, the men in purple were mesmerized, as the Patriots took the lead with eight consecutive fancy finishes. And then a little voice was heard down in Thunder-who-ville. Why it was little Tyler-Giorgionne-who, dodging a longpole, stepping in and burying an overhand rip to stop the bleeding at the 7:10 mark in the second. Apparently, Thunder did not apply enough pressure though, as the bleeding started right back up and the Patriots racked up eight more unanswered before the end of the third.
Steve Cole (1s/2ga/12mins) came in to relieve Zach Rudgers (4s/16ga/36mins) for the final twelve, which Thunder managed to win 3-2, on goals by Andrew Prestigiacomo, Anthony Crawford, and Dan Vyverberg (1g-1a), as the clock ran. A-Pres' goal was unassisted as he drove from top of the box, dodged the D and finished @ 9:30 in 4th to wake everyone up. Then along came freshman Anthony Crawford, wasting no time netting his first varsity goal, in this his varsity debut, with a snipe over the Patriots keeper's shoulder, assisted by Vyper with a feed from X. Vyper would eventually get his own on a fast break from Cheese with just 16 secs to go in the game. And so, Thunder finishes a respectable 10-7, as Penfield moves on to the semifinals.
Thunder may have lost the game, but they won a lot of respect. Take Brandon Cheeseman who led both teams with 9gb in the contest and laid out two Patriots with shoulder checks, one being the Pats keeper, Jamie Solomon, wandering into Thunder territory, ball in tow. Cheeseman went to the box for unnecessary roughness both times, but these were not cheap hits, it was simply a matter of height/weight ratios. And then there was midfielder Joe Trimboli (5gb), barrelling down field and steamrolling everyone in his path like a train truck a rollin all nite long. Ryan "Yao-Ming" Walsh was up from JV for his varsity debut and made some solid contibutions legging the ball downfield along with Keenan Mahoney (5gb) who was pulled up several games ago to bolster the depleted varsity D-corps.
Scoring leaders for Penfield were 22-Alex Miles (5g-1a), 10-Tucker Nelson (4g), and 4-Dan O'Brien (3g-2a). Playing well in (and out of) the cage for Penfield was Jamie Solomon (5s/1ga/36mins). Although, Penfield would eventually fall to Pittsford in the semifinals, ironically on the short end of the same 18-4 score they handed Thunder in the quarters. Perhaps we'll get another crack at 'em next year!
GTLAX JV Game Report - May 27 vs Batavia
The Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder JV Lacrosse team went out on a high note, handing Batavia a 12-7 decision, in their final game of the season at home on Thursday 27-May. Leading the charge offensively for Thunder were Pat Crowe (3g-7a) with an impressive 10 point game, fellow attack Joe Angello (4g-1a) with 5 points and Anthony Crawford with a pair of goals. Also scoring for Thunder were Cam Ernstberger, Tyler Heaton, and Brian Torcia with one each. Ken Mohrman, Nick D'Ambrosia, Adrian Sanchez, Ryan Walsh, and Tyler Schindler all played well on the back end limiting the Blue Devils chances and keeping their team on the attack with some nice transitions. Mohrman was solid in the nets for three quarters allowing only 4 against before turning the baton over to Mike Zimmer for the final frame. Kenny had the fans going wild when he rushed one to the mid-field line but he left them wanting more as he dished it off to a teammate and hurried back to his crease. Adrian Sanchez made a nice end-end rush before coughing it up as well. Joe "Snake" Vyverberg played a rather physical game and at one point crushed not only the ball carrier but a couple of other innocent bystanders in the scrum, prompting a visit from the Batavia trainer, while everyone took a knee. On the other side of the spectrum we saw Chris Merkel head off to the box for roughing up a Blue Devil twice his size. As the saying goes, "It's not the size of the dog, but the size of the fight in the dog that counts", or something like that. Have a nice summer!
GTLAX Game Report - May 20 @ Spencerport
It was senior nite for Spencerport as they hosted Athena/Odyssey under the lights on the turf, Thursday the 20th of May at Ranger Field. In a see-saw battle where the lead changed twice and the momentum changed thrice, the Rangers ultimately came out on top 16-12 to win the game and sweep a rather competitive series, having edged Thunder by only 2 goals with a 9-7 result earlier in the season. Better tell the engineers that the new field is tilted as 21 of the 28 goals were scored at the East end with the Rangers winning the first 4-1, Thunder winning the second 6-2, Rangers winning the third 7-1, and Thunder winning the fourth 4-3.
It was a rather sloppy start for the Thunder as they struggled to complete a pass and watched the Rangers take an early lead. Scoring for the Rangers in the first were Nick Fischer (7g-1a) with a pair, Ben Tribunella off the hail mary pass from Schweikert, and Seth Miller with a drive from up top. Tyler Giorgione (5g) had the lone goal for Thunder in the opening frame as he split the D, got checked and dropped the ball, then regained the handle and beat Schweikert at close range to put his team on the board and stop the bleeding.
First quarter truly tested Thunder's mettle as they trailed by three but they would battle back with six goals in the second to lead by one at the half, 7-6. Matt Keough (2g-2a) setup Dan Vyverberg (3g-2a) for two tallies, Giorgione ripped three more, and Nick Caracci added one, after making a quick cut to the slot and gathering a no-look feed zinged over the cage by Vyper at X. Kristan Barbato (3g) and Ben Tribunella (3g) scored one apiece for the Rangers assisted by Marcus Palvino and Matt Kaser.
Matt Keough netted his first of the game at the start of the third, assisted by Vyper, to keep the rally going and get ahead by two, but the the tide would soon turn as the Fischer show took center stage and the Ranger's senior attackman set up his line mate Austin Hintz before going on a 4-goal tear of his own. Marcus Palvino walked in and hit the mark to join the to Fischerpalooza as did Ben Tribunella with a bingo goal, and it was 13-8 Rangers going into the final frame.
Barbato scooped one outside the Thunder crease and beat Rudgers to open the fourth. Keough answered back for Thunder, rolling and ripping one post and in. Fischer got the next goal, his 7th, followed by Barbato for the Rangers. And then Thunder tried mounting a comeback as Nick Kraft sailed a wing to wing pass across the middle to Vyper for number ten, Andrew Prestigiacomo drove the lane and notched number eleven, non-dom, and Tyler Giorgione buried his 5th for an even dozen. Unfortunately for Thunder it was a little too little, a little too late, but still a rather exciting finish with everyone in the house on pins and needles as the players battled their hearts out on the gridiron.
Despite losing the war, Thunder won the ground ball battle 56-45, led by Brandon Cheeseman (16gb) and Nick Kraft (6gb). Thunder also controlled the face off circle winning 18 of 30 draws, bolstered by front-man Joe Trimboli. Thunder went 3 for 9 on the EMO and shut the Rangers out on all 6 attempts. Hats off to the Thunder defense who played a very physical game from the cage out, keeper, long poles and middies alike. Rudgers fisnished with 11 saves, stoning some pretty heavy shots by the Rangers. Sophomore long pole Keenan Mahoney was a key contributor for Thunder in his second game up from JV thwarting numerous Ranger offensives alongside the usual suspects on D from Cheese to Materise to LePore. The beads help us score, but the angels (in the outfield and around Gloria's neck) protect our turf. Joe Trimboli (at one point having 6 white shirts on him and still coming out with the ball), Eric Hostetter, Mike LoFaso and Parker Bonis played gritty on the defensive side of the ball as well, forcing beaucoup turnovers to help Thunder go on the attack. Take away the lapse in the third quarter when Fischer went on his 4-goal streak and we just might have gone to extra innings. All of that said, Spencerport finished the regular season with an 8-8 record while the Thunder delivered a team best 10-6. Official MC3 standings and sectional seedings are forthcoming as the remaining Section V contests wrap up over the weekend. Stay tuned for further details!
It was a rather sloppy start for the Thunder as they struggled to complete a pass and watched the Rangers take an early lead. Scoring for the Rangers in the first were Nick Fischer (7g-1a) with a pair, Ben Tribunella off the hail mary pass from Schweikert, and Seth Miller with a drive from up top. Tyler Giorgione (5g) had the lone goal for Thunder in the opening frame as he split the D, got checked and dropped the ball, then regained the handle and beat Schweikert at close range to put his team on the board and stop the bleeding.
First quarter truly tested Thunder's mettle as they trailed by three but they would battle back with six goals in the second to lead by one at the half, 7-6. Matt Keough (2g-2a) setup Dan Vyverberg (3g-2a) for two tallies, Giorgione ripped three more, and Nick Caracci added one, after making a quick cut to the slot and gathering a no-look feed zinged over the cage by Vyper at X. Kristan Barbato (3g) and Ben Tribunella (3g) scored one apiece for the Rangers assisted by Marcus Palvino and Matt Kaser.
Matt Keough netted his first of the game at the start of the third, assisted by Vyper, to keep the rally going and get ahead by two, but the the tide would soon turn as the Fischer show took center stage and the Ranger's senior attackman set up his line mate Austin Hintz before going on a 4-goal tear of his own. Marcus Palvino walked in and hit the mark to join the to Fischerpalooza as did Ben Tribunella with a bingo goal, and it was 13-8 Rangers going into the final frame.
Barbato scooped one outside the Thunder crease and beat Rudgers to open the fourth. Keough answered back for Thunder, rolling and ripping one post and in. Fischer got the next goal, his 7th, followed by Barbato for the Rangers. And then Thunder tried mounting a comeback as Nick Kraft sailed a wing to wing pass across the middle to Vyper for number ten, Andrew Prestigiacomo drove the lane and notched number eleven, non-dom, and Tyler Giorgione buried his 5th for an even dozen. Unfortunately for Thunder it was a little too little, a little too late, but still a rather exciting finish with everyone in the house on pins and needles as the players battled their hearts out on the gridiron.
Despite losing the war, Thunder won the ground ball battle 56-45, led by Brandon Cheeseman (16gb) and Nick Kraft (6gb). Thunder also controlled the face off circle winning 18 of 30 draws, bolstered by front-man Joe Trimboli. Thunder went 3 for 9 on the EMO and shut the Rangers out on all 6 attempts. Hats off to the Thunder defense who played a very physical game from the cage out, keeper, long poles and middies alike. Rudgers fisnished with 11 saves, stoning some pretty heavy shots by the Rangers. Sophomore long pole Keenan Mahoney was a key contributor for Thunder in his second game up from JV thwarting numerous Ranger offensives alongside the usual suspects on D from Cheese to Materise to LePore. The beads help us score, but the angels (in the outfield and around Gloria's neck) protect our turf. Joe Trimboli (at one point having 6 white shirts on him and still coming out with the ball), Eric Hostetter, Mike LoFaso and Parker Bonis played gritty on the defensive side of the ball as well, forcing beaucoup turnovers to help Thunder go on the attack. Take away the lapse in the third quarter when Fischer went on his 4-goal streak and we just might have gone to extra innings. All of that said, Spencerport finished the regular season with an 8-8 record while the Thunder delivered a team best 10-6. Official MC3 standings and sectional seedings are forthcoming as the remaining Section V contests wrap up over the weekend. Stay tuned for further details!
GTLAX Game Report - May 18 vs GL (senior nite)
Oh yes it's senior nite and it won't rain tonite, oh yes it's senior nite oh what a nite, ohhh what a nite. So much for the News-13-Now on your side weather forecast that suggested the rain would fall south of the city. Must be nice to be wrong all the time and still get paid. In the event that you were hiding under a rock on Tuesday 18-May and did not notice, it rained all day while the Thunder booster club was preparing for Senior Nite at Athena Stadium. As the senior parents, pinned with LAX ribbons, took turns greeting their sons one by one under the balloon arch for their final Thunder LAX kodak moment together, after years of cheering them on from the sidelines, the rain kept on falling and it continued throughout the Storm game that would ensue between your Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder and the visiting Greece Arcadia/Olympia Lightning. It's all good though, because the rain provided the necessary camouflage for any tears running down the cheeks of the senior moms. When all was said and done and soaked, Thunder reigned on Lightning's parade, 20-6 before a capacity crowd, ok, well, there were a few people in the stands with umbrellas!
After Tyler Giorgione's uncle Ralph was finished announcing the seniors (quite a bit of funny material in there, like Conway thanking George Washington for the field we play on), Jenna Bruce (Thunder midfielder Parker Bonis' cousin) sang the anthem and then yours truly made his way through the puddles and upstairs to announce the starting lineups. It was a bit difficult to hear oneself think, what with the entire Thunder JV team hiding out in the press box - I thought LAX players were supposed to be tough and rugged but apparently they were all afraid of melting outside in the rain! With a few minor stumbles we got through the lineups and were underway with the game.
Striking first in the first for Thunder was Andrew Prestigiacomo (2g) as he rolled from right to left and hit the mark with a non-dominant left handed shot that had some mustard on it. Lightning's David Powlowski (2g-1a) and Rich Fischer (1g-1a) hooked up on the second and third goals of the game when Powlowski scored on a shot from the wing fed by Fischer up top and then Fischer finished off a mini fast break fed by Powlowski. Thunder senior captain Dan Vyverberg (5g-2a) said "not in my house" as he came right back with a goal of his own, driving out of the corner, rolling to the slot and muscling one by Trost to tie it at 2's. On the next series Vyper got a ground ball outside the box, ran it in and threaded a pass through traffic to fellow attackman Nick Kraft, who was hiding on the backside of the crease, for the quick-stick goal and the lead, 3-2 at the end of one.
Second frame was all thunder as Vyper bookended the quarter with a pair of goals, picking up the trash and putting it home on the first goal and then finishing off a fast break feed from Cheese on the last one. Also scoring in the second for Thunder were Eric Hostetter with a wide angle shot from GLE (that's goal line extended), Tyler Giorgione (4g-1a) with a one-hop powerball, Andrew Prestigiacomo this time rolling left to right and bouncing one under the crossbar. And so, it was 8-2 Thunder going to the half, with the rain in spain still falling mainly on the plain.
Thunder turned up the heat in the third with 7 more markers to just 2 for the Lightning, both from senior midfielder Kendrick Heintzelman (3g). Steve Cole (2s-1ga-10mins) entered the cage for Thunder at the 3:40 mark and went on to do his team proud in relief for Rudgers (4s-3ga-32mins). Leading the charge offsensively for Thunder in the third were Matt Keough (3g-2a), Mike LoFaso (2g), and Joe Trimboli (1g-1a), after Giorgione scored with on overhand ripper to open the quarter. Keough setup LoFaso for a pair of drives to the top right corner and took the handle from Vyper inbetween those 2 setups with an underhanded change-up through the close D screen that found the mark. Keough's final two tallies came on the run after being fed by Trimboli and Vyper. Trimboli had a run-n-gun goal of his own to round out the scoring in the third.
Thunder continued their roll in the fourth quarter with a pair from Giorgione (the last one coming from 3-point range), a pair from Vyper (assisted by Gorgione and Cheese), and one from Groundball-Cheeseman (1g-1a). Zack Cox (0s, 2ga, 6mins) came in to relieve Cole at the 5:14 mark for the balance and the fans went wild. Powlowski and Heintzelman scored unassisted for the Lightning in the final frame as well.
Thunder went 16/24 (66%) in the face off circle and scooped 51 ground balls to Lightning's 30. Kendrick Heinzelman had 10gb for the Lighting, while Joe Trimboli and Brandon Cheeseman came out with 9gb and 7gb respectively for Thunder. Clay Wyzykowski, Tim Chase, and Nick Caracci moved the ball well and contributed to the cause. Mike LoFaso got 5 ground balls and showed off his speed running it down the field like a cheetah. Chris D'Ambrosia did a nice job keeping the play wide and boxing out on D. Materise, Lepore and Cheeseman did a nice job moving the ball in transition as well, supported by sophomore long pole Keenan Mahoney, who was up from JV to help out while Jared Sangiorgi is on the mend. With this win, Thunder climbs to 10-5 (6-5 MC3) and are now poised to take over third place in MC3 with their final game of the regular season, a league game on Thursday 20-May at Spencerport.
Yeah Thun-Deeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
After Tyler Giorgione's uncle Ralph was finished announcing the seniors (quite a bit of funny material in there, like Conway thanking George Washington for the field we play on), Jenna Bruce (Thunder midfielder Parker Bonis' cousin) sang the anthem and then yours truly made his way through the puddles and upstairs to announce the starting lineups. It was a bit difficult to hear oneself think, what with the entire Thunder JV team hiding out in the press box - I thought LAX players were supposed to be tough and rugged but apparently they were all afraid of melting outside in the rain! With a few minor stumbles we got through the lineups and were underway with the game.
Striking first in the first for Thunder was Andrew Prestigiacomo (2g) as he rolled from right to left and hit the mark with a non-dominant left handed shot that had some mustard on it. Lightning's David Powlowski (2g-1a) and Rich Fischer (1g-1a) hooked up on the second and third goals of the game when Powlowski scored on a shot from the wing fed by Fischer up top and then Fischer finished off a mini fast break fed by Powlowski. Thunder senior captain Dan Vyverberg (5g-2a) said "not in my house" as he came right back with a goal of his own, driving out of the corner, rolling to the slot and muscling one by Trost to tie it at 2's. On the next series Vyper got a ground ball outside the box, ran it in and threaded a pass through traffic to fellow attackman Nick Kraft, who was hiding on the backside of the crease, for the quick-stick goal and the lead, 3-2 at the end of one.
Second frame was all thunder as Vyper bookended the quarter with a pair of goals, picking up the trash and putting it home on the first goal and then finishing off a fast break feed from Cheese on the last one. Also scoring in the second for Thunder were Eric Hostetter with a wide angle shot from GLE (that's goal line extended), Tyler Giorgione (4g-1a) with a one-hop powerball, Andrew Prestigiacomo this time rolling left to right and bouncing one under the crossbar. And so, it was 8-2 Thunder going to the half, with the rain in spain still falling mainly on the plain.
Thunder turned up the heat in the third with 7 more markers to just 2 for the Lightning, both from senior midfielder Kendrick Heintzelman (3g). Steve Cole (2s-1ga-10mins) entered the cage for Thunder at the 3:40 mark and went on to do his team proud in relief for Rudgers (4s-3ga-32mins). Leading the charge offsensively for Thunder in the third were Matt Keough (3g-2a), Mike LoFaso (2g), and Joe Trimboli (1g-1a), after Giorgione scored with on overhand ripper to open the quarter. Keough setup LoFaso for a pair of drives to the top right corner and took the handle from Vyper inbetween those 2 setups with an underhanded change-up through the close D screen that found the mark. Keough's final two tallies came on the run after being fed by Trimboli and Vyper. Trimboli had a run-n-gun goal of his own to round out the scoring in the third.
Thunder continued their roll in the fourth quarter with a pair from Giorgione (the last one coming from 3-point range), a pair from Vyper (assisted by Gorgione and Cheese), and one from Groundball-Cheeseman (1g-1a). Zack Cox (0s, 2ga, 6mins) came in to relieve Cole at the 5:14 mark for the balance and the fans went wild. Powlowski and Heintzelman scored unassisted for the Lightning in the final frame as well.
Thunder went 16/24 (66%) in the face off circle and scooped 51 ground balls to Lightning's 30. Kendrick Heinzelman had 10gb for the Lighting, while Joe Trimboli and Brandon Cheeseman came out with 9gb and 7gb respectively for Thunder. Clay Wyzykowski, Tim Chase, and Nick Caracci moved the ball well and contributed to the cause. Mike LoFaso got 5 ground balls and showed off his speed running it down the field like a cheetah. Chris D'Ambrosia did a nice job keeping the play wide and boxing out on D. Materise, Lepore and Cheeseman did a nice job moving the ball in transition as well, supported by sophomore long pole Keenan Mahoney, who was up from JV to help out while Jared Sangiorgi is on the mend. With this win, Thunder climbs to 10-5 (6-5 MC3) and are now poised to take over third place in MC3 with their final game of the regular season, a league game on Thursday 20-May at Spencerport.
Yeah Thun-Deeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
GTLAX JV Game Report - May 17 vs Batavia
The Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder JV Lacrosse team played host to the Batavia Blue Devils on the sod field at Athena Monday night and pretty much dominated the game in every aspect from start to finish as they gave Batavia a 13-0 spanking and sent them to their room with no dinner. Actually, they may have gotten to eat dinner, as the Batavia coach asked for directions to McDonalds, telling his players they had to do better next time if they wanted to stop at Steve T's for a plate on the return.
Setting the pace for Thunder was Anthony "AC130" Crawford who bagged 6 goals and 1 assist for a 7 point game, not too shabby. His fellow attack Pat "PC" Crowe and Joe "J-lo" Angelo notched 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points apiece. Brian Torchin (2g-1a) and Cameron Ernstberger (1g-1a) donated to Thunder's cause from the midfield as well. Kenny Mohrman was clean in the cage stopping everything that came his way. Mike Zimmer got the nod in the fourth quarter between the pipes, and held on for the combined shutout win. Keenan Mahoney, Peter Riccardi, and Ryan Walsh played well on defense to make life easy for their goaltenders and to keep the ball moving in transition. Pretty much the entire roster saw playing time in this lopsided contest and they all proved they could execute as they moved the ball around the horn. I don't know, could be some magic in those purple socks!
Tuesday Nite is Senior Nite for the Varsity team as they host the Lightning at 5pm. Stop on out to catch the pre-game ceremonies that will commence at 4:30pm. The varsity will play their final game of the regular season Thursday on the road to Spencerport, and then sectionals start on Tuesday, May 25, opponent and venue TBD.Friday Nite is JV STORM Game as they host Lightning 5pm as well on the stadium field at Athena - you don't want to miss this one!
Setting the pace for Thunder was Anthony "AC130" Crawford who bagged 6 goals and 1 assist for a 7 point game, not too shabby. His fellow attack Pat "PC" Crowe and Joe "J-lo" Angelo notched 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points apiece. Brian Torchin (2g-1a) and Cameron Ernstberger (1g-1a) donated to Thunder's cause from the midfield as well. Kenny Mohrman was clean in the cage stopping everything that came his way. Mike Zimmer got the nod in the fourth quarter between the pipes, and held on for the combined shutout win. Keenan Mahoney, Peter Riccardi, and Ryan Walsh played well on defense to make life easy for their goaltenders and to keep the ball moving in transition. Pretty much the entire roster saw playing time in this lopsided contest and they all proved they could execute as they moved the ball around the horn. I don't know, could be some magic in those purple socks!
Tuesday Nite is Senior Nite for the Varsity team as they host the Lightning at 5pm. Stop on out to catch the pre-game ceremonies that will commence at 4:30pm. The varsity will play their final game of the regular season Thursday on the road to Spencerport, and then sectionals start on Tuesday, May 25, opponent and venue TBD.Friday Nite is JV STORM Game as they host Lightning 5pm as well on the stadium field at Athena - you don't want to miss this one!
GTLAX Game Report - May 15 vs Newark
Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave...... not today, but we could hear the black velvet voice of Odyssey alum Amanda Sherry at the mic and if anyone can sell the anthem without the flag, it's her. Last year on the road to Newark, Thunder had to bounce back from an early deficit and a lightning delay to beat the Reds 11-9 in monsoon like conditions. While Thunder spotted the Reds' Eli Ebanks the first goal of the game in this year's meeting, Sat May 15th at Athena, Mike "mufasa" LoFaso came marching back on the next drive with an authoritative bar-down goal for his first of the season and the Thunder would never look back as they went on to dismantle the Reds 18-5 in their annual rotating non-league contest. Rounding out the scoring in the first frame for Thunder were Dan Vyverberg (4g-4a), who beat Camblin 1-on-0 after getting around a Reds long pole with a nice roll dodge, and Nick Kraft (3g), who buried one deep in the back of the net off the fast break feed from Andrew Prestigiacomo. This win makes 9 for Thunder and sets a team record for most wins in a single season. Having won all 4 non-league contests on their schedule, Thunder is now 9-5 overall (5-5 in MC3) with only two games to go before sectionals.
With several starters out for grades, everyone pulled together and stepped up to the plate to fill vacant roles and get the job done for Thunder. It was a team effort all the way with 9 players contributing a total of 26 points to Thunder's offense. Thunder did not miss a beat as they continued to dominate the face off circle with a 2 to one margin going 15/21 with contributions from the entire midfield. Ground balls R US too as Thunder boasted a 55-30 advantage, led by Joe Trimboli with 14 and Brandon Cheeseman in double digits as well with 11.
Second quarter was bookended with Thunder goals by Tyler Giorgione (6g), the first one an overhand powerball, assisted by Vyper, and the second one a half-court one hopper that caught Camblin by surprise with 2 seconds left til the horn. Ryan Kommer scored the Reds' lone goal in the second unassisted.
Although we were unable to book an act for the half-time show, there was a press-box shout out to former Thunder Varsity LAX assistant Dan Webb in attendance. Webby is the Greece Thunder Hockey Coach who humbly accepted the 2008-2009 NYS High School Hockey Division I coach of the year award for his perfect 27-0 season. Rumor has it he is expecting... a black labrador puppy that is. We look forward to seeing Otis chasing down pucks and balls for the Thunder come next season!
Back from the half, Thunder continued their rally, putting up 7 unanswered goals to widen their lead to 12-2. Giorgione got another pair, one a ripper to the top left corner and the other a wraparound lay-in. Purple stick boy Eric Hostetter tallied unassisted. Matt Keough (1g-1a) finished with a dirty snipe to the top right. Brandon Cheeseman rushed for 80 yards and got one over the goal line with a second effort. Nick Kraft got his second on a nice cut across the middle fed by Vyper down low. Then it was Vyper's turn to tally as he bounced one under the crossbar after catching a pass from Joe Trimboli (1g-2a) up top.
Zach Rudgers finished with (9s/2ga/36mins) after three, passing the baton to Steve Cole who would make 1 save and allow 3 goals in 9mins in the fourth before turning the cage over to Zach "blue shoes" Cox. Coxer shut it down with 0 saves and 0 goals against, but he did manage to get coach Perry's blood flowing when he left his crease momentarily. I don't know, I kind of like it when the goalie comes out. It makes the fans go wild. Take the Red's starter Dominic Camblin (8s/12ga/36mins) for example. He ran the ball down the field every chance he got and the Thunder fans came unglued when nobody tried to stop him. Anywho, Camblin exited after 3 along with Rudgers to allow Nate Gardner (2s/6ga/12mins) the opportunity to finish in the cage for the Reds. Both teams traded goals early in the fourth frame but Thunder finished strong with 6 in total to just 3 for the Reds. Scoring for the Reds were Luke Hartman with a pair and Ryan Kommer with 1+1 to add to his second quarter marker. Wrapping it up and putting a bow on it for Thunder were Vyper with 2 tallies, one a FB from Trimboli and the other another mano-e-mono with the goaltender; Kraft with a drive that hit all three posts before breaking the plane; Trimboli assisted by Keough; and Giorgione with a rip under the crossbar and worm burner for good measure, because it was there!
With several starters out for grades, everyone pulled together and stepped up to the plate to fill vacant roles and get the job done for Thunder. It was a team effort all the way with 9 players contributing a total of 26 points to Thunder's offense. Thunder did not miss a beat as they continued to dominate the face off circle with a 2 to one margin going 15/21 with contributions from the entire midfield. Ground balls R US too as Thunder boasted a 55-30 advantage, led by Joe Trimboli with 14 and Brandon Cheeseman in double digits as well with 11.
Second quarter was bookended with Thunder goals by Tyler Giorgione (6g), the first one an overhand powerball, assisted by Vyper, and the second one a half-court one hopper that caught Camblin by surprise with 2 seconds left til the horn. Ryan Kommer scored the Reds' lone goal in the second unassisted.
Although we were unable to book an act for the half-time show, there was a press-box shout out to former Thunder Varsity LAX assistant Dan Webb in attendance. Webby is the Greece Thunder Hockey Coach who humbly accepted the 2008-2009 NYS High School Hockey Division I coach of the year award for his perfect 27-0 season. Rumor has it he is expecting... a black labrador puppy that is. We look forward to seeing Otis chasing down pucks and balls for the Thunder come next season!
Back from the half, Thunder continued their rally, putting up 7 unanswered goals to widen their lead to 12-2. Giorgione got another pair, one a ripper to the top left corner and the other a wraparound lay-in. Purple stick boy Eric Hostetter tallied unassisted. Matt Keough (1g-1a) finished with a dirty snipe to the top right. Brandon Cheeseman rushed for 80 yards and got one over the goal line with a second effort. Nick Kraft got his second on a nice cut across the middle fed by Vyper down low. Then it was Vyper's turn to tally as he bounced one under the crossbar after catching a pass from Joe Trimboli (1g-2a) up top.
Zach Rudgers finished with (9s/2ga/36mins) after three, passing the baton to Steve Cole who would make 1 save and allow 3 goals in 9mins in the fourth before turning the cage over to Zach "blue shoes" Cox. Coxer shut it down with 0 saves and 0 goals against, but he did manage to get coach Perry's blood flowing when he left his crease momentarily. I don't know, I kind of like it when the goalie comes out. It makes the fans go wild. Take the Red's starter Dominic Camblin (8s/12ga/36mins) for example. He ran the ball down the field every chance he got and the Thunder fans came unglued when nobody tried to stop him. Anywho, Camblin exited after 3 along with Rudgers to allow Nate Gardner (2s/6ga/12mins) the opportunity to finish in the cage for the Reds. Both teams traded goals early in the fourth frame but Thunder finished strong with 6 in total to just 3 for the Reds. Scoring for the Reds were Luke Hartman with a pair and Ryan Kommer with 1+1 to add to his second quarter marker. Wrapping it up and putting a bow on it for Thunder were Vyper with 2 tallies, one a FB from Trimboli and the other another mano-e-mono with the goaltender; Kraft with a drive that hit all three posts before breaking the plane; Trimboli assisted by Keough; and Giorgione with a rip under the crossbar and worm burner for good measure, because it was there!
GTLAX Game Report - May 12 @ BK
With a final score of 21-3 over the Bishop Kearney Kings and a total of 39 points recorded (all but 3 Thunder goals were assisted), the Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder advanced their record to 8-5 under partly sunny skies at Brother Clark Stadium, former home field of the Rochester Rattlers. Thunder got all 3 goalies and virtually all of their roster into the game, save a handful of players out sick, injured or in absentia for some other reason. As expected, Thunder controlled the game from start to finish, winning 20 of 26 face offs and outworking the Kings 63-36 at the ground ball game. Gino Prestigiacomo led the way, scooping 16 (that's a lot of balls) and he distributed quite a few of them, including 5 that stood up as assists. Shots were 28-8 Thunder, so Thunder went 21/28 or 75% from the field.
Despite Nate Kessler scoring for the Kings nine seconds into the game off the first face and then getting by Rudgers again with under a minute to go to bookend the opening quarter with his second goal, Thunder rang the bell ten times in-between on six scores from Dan Vyverberg, two tallies from Anthony Merola, three assists from Joe Trimboli, and one goal apiece from Matt Keough & Tyler Giorgione (that's George-Own), to set the tone for the rest of the way. Steve Cole took the baton from Rudgers between the pipes for Thunder going into the second and would make 4 saves through 24 minutes and two periods, allowing no goals. Zach Cox made his debut serving all 12 minutes in cage for Thunder in the fourth quarter and allowing only 1 goal against. Coxy's not afraid to come out and play the ball. It was fun to watch him run, he's got some wheels. Sort of reminded me of Fran "the Scrambler" Tarkenton who played QB for the Vikes back in the 70's. But I digress and am dating myself, what else is new?
Giorgione (2g-2a) hit the mark again in the second on a fast break feed from Gino Prestigiacomo (5a) before setting up defensive captain Brandon Cheeseman (3g-1a) with his first goal of the season. Third quarter was all Cheese and Ca-Rach with Cheeseman completing the hat and Nick Caracci (2g-1a) finally putting one between the pipes for his first varsity goal, after having chipped a good deal of paint off the pipes in his first season at the varsity level. Caracci went on to score his second before the quarter, sprinkled with assists by by G-Pres, Merola (2g-1a), Bonis, and Materise (first varsity point), was out. Ca-rach's mom, the booster club president and bearer of the beads, is so proud of all of her Thunder boys!
Ca-rach was back to open the fourth frame, setting up Steve Spencer with his first varsity goal. Gino set up Thunder's next goal by lobbing the ball to the slot as purple stickman Eric Hostetter came by to snag it and beat Clarkowski far side on the run. Then back in came Vyverberg for a brief visit, scooping up a rebound and putting it home to tie Joe Hallowell (2005), Matt Keough (2010), and his own (2010) Thunder record for most goals in a single game with 7, before sitting out the rest of the contest. Vyverberg's seventh also broke Nate Wallenhorst's (2008) Thunder record for # of goals in a single season with 39. Finishing off the scoring for Thunder were Matt Keough (2g-3a) and Andrew Prestigiacomo with one each, but Dylan Miller had the last word, scoring for BK with 4 seconds remaining in the game.
Thunder will host Newark, 11:00am on Sat 15-May at Athena Stadium. Come on out and see what it's all about. I am still dying to see/hear who's got talent with an impromptu half-time show from the student body at Athena or Odyssey - stop up to the booth for a sound check before the game. I double-dog dare ya! Also, as part of our emergency broadcast system testing, I have been preparing to say the following over the loudspeaker... "is there an AD in the House?"
Despite Nate Kessler scoring for the Kings nine seconds into the game off the first face and then getting by Rudgers again with under a minute to go to bookend the opening quarter with his second goal, Thunder rang the bell ten times in-between on six scores from Dan Vyverberg, two tallies from Anthony Merola, three assists from Joe Trimboli, and one goal apiece from Matt Keough & Tyler Giorgione (that's George-Own), to set the tone for the rest of the way. Steve Cole took the baton from Rudgers between the pipes for Thunder going into the second and would make 4 saves through 24 minutes and two periods, allowing no goals. Zach Cox made his debut serving all 12 minutes in cage for Thunder in the fourth quarter and allowing only 1 goal against. Coxy's not afraid to come out and play the ball. It was fun to watch him run, he's got some wheels. Sort of reminded me of Fran "the Scrambler" Tarkenton who played QB for the Vikes back in the 70's. But I digress and am dating myself, what else is new?
Giorgione (2g-2a) hit the mark again in the second on a fast break feed from Gino Prestigiacomo (5a) before setting up defensive captain Brandon Cheeseman (3g-1a) with his first goal of the season. Third quarter was all Cheese and Ca-Rach with Cheeseman completing the hat and Nick Caracci (2g-1a) finally putting one between the pipes for his first varsity goal, after having chipped a good deal of paint off the pipes in his first season at the varsity level. Caracci went on to score his second before the quarter, sprinkled with assists by by G-Pres, Merola (2g-1a), Bonis, and Materise (first varsity point), was out. Ca-rach's mom, the booster club president and bearer of the beads, is so proud of all of her Thunder boys!
Ca-rach was back to open the fourth frame, setting up Steve Spencer with his first varsity goal. Gino set up Thunder's next goal by lobbing the ball to the slot as purple stickman Eric Hostetter came by to snag it and beat Clarkowski far side on the run. Then back in came Vyverberg for a brief visit, scooping up a rebound and putting it home to tie Joe Hallowell (2005), Matt Keough (2010), and his own (2010) Thunder record for most goals in a single game with 7, before sitting out the rest of the contest. Vyverberg's seventh also broke Nate Wallenhorst's (2008) Thunder record for # of goals in a single season with 39. Finishing off the scoring for Thunder were Matt Keough (2g-3a) and Andrew Prestigiacomo with one each, but Dylan Miller had the last word, scoring for BK with 4 seconds remaining in the game.
Thunder will host Newark, 11:00am on Sat 15-May at Athena Stadium. Come on out and see what it's all about. I am still dying to see/hear who's got talent with an impromptu half-time show from the student body at Athena or Odyssey - stop up to the booth for a sound check before the game. I double-dog dare ya! Also, as part of our emergency broadcast system testing, I have been preparing to say the following over the loudspeaker... "is there an AD in the House?"
GTLAX Game Report - May 11 vs Batavia
Thunder settled the score with Batavia, beating them handily by a score of 15-10 at home Tuesday Nite, after letting one slip away 11-10 in OT on the road to Batavia a week and a half ago. With this win Thunder improves their record to 7-5. Thunder won the battle of the ground balls 62-25, led by Brandon Cheeseman with 12, Gino Prestigiacomo with 11 and Dan Vyverberg with 7. Thunder controlled the face-off circle winning 21 of 27 and outshot the Blue Devils 28-22. Anthony Merola was hitting anything that moved, hard, making us all wonder what he had eaten for breakfast. Probably the same thing Matt Keough had, given he could not miss the net as he lit up Theo Hill (who btw leads Section V with 213 saves and is 3rd with a save % of .63) with 7 goals to tie Joe Hallowell (2005) and Dan Vyverberg (2010) Thunder record for most goals in a single game with 7.
Athena senior and vocalist extraordinaire, Katie Edinger, laid down the pre-game anthem live, prompting a series of OMGs from the Batavia stat guys in the press box, one of which allegedly has a sister with the same name, i kid you not - Katie Edinger - although apparently his sister cannot carry a tune. It was like an extreme flashback to Wayne's World listening to those guys' commentary throughout the game. They informed me that the correct enunciation for Theo Hill was THE "O" and also urged me to announce Chip Chapman as Chiptopher Chipman, so I obliged. What's more I was informed by Gloria Lepore that the mic was on and that she could hear everything I was saying, so I proceeded to inform her over the loudspeaker that she needed to report to the parking lot b/c her car was on fire. Fun and games. Back to the game.
Andrew Prestigiacomo (2g-1a) opened up the scoring for Thunder with his first goal of the season, followed by markers from Keough, Vyper (1g-5a), and Gino (2g-1a) in succession before Chip Chapman (6g-2a) broke the seal for the Blue Devils. Keough closed out the first quarter with a sick snipe to the top right corner off the down low feed from Vyper. Kyle Maniace (2g-2a) scored one and set up Chapman with another to equal Thunder's two tallies in the second. It was Vyper feeding the ball out front for both Keough and A-Pres who would each find the mark to make it 7-3 Thunder at the half.
Third quarter saw Chapman and Maniaci combine to notch 3 more goals for Batavia, but Thunder pulled away with five in the twine, two by Merola (3g) and three from hot-hand Keough (7g). Unable to score on numerous attempts at the overhead shot, Vyper thought he would try his hand at an overhead pass instead and as luck would have it he connected with Keough for a goal. Keough picked up the trash and put away the next one on his own and his third in the third was assisted by A-Pres. Merola's markers consisted of a top left corner snipe, assisted by G-Pres, and a solo finish after scooping the ball out of a mosh pit. And so it was 12-6 Thunder going into the final frame.
Chapman finished strong for Batavia with 2+2 in the fourth, assisting on two goals by Will Mulcahy. Thunder kept it real with three more to get-R-dun, as Vyper connected the dots with Keough for the fourth time, G-Pres went han solo, and Merola capped it off at 15 to get Joey Flores his first varisty point with the assist.
Athena senior and vocalist extraordinaire, Katie Edinger, laid down the pre-game anthem live, prompting a series of OMGs from the Batavia stat guys in the press box, one of which allegedly has a sister with the same name, i kid you not - Katie Edinger - although apparently his sister cannot carry a tune. It was like an extreme flashback to Wayne's World listening to those guys' commentary throughout the game. They informed me that the correct enunciation for Theo Hill was THE "O" and also urged me to announce Chip Chapman as Chiptopher Chipman, so I obliged. What's more I was informed by Gloria Lepore that the mic was on and that she could hear everything I was saying, so I proceeded to inform her over the loudspeaker that she needed to report to the parking lot b/c her car was on fire. Fun and games. Back to the game.
Andrew Prestigiacomo (2g-1a) opened up the scoring for Thunder with his first goal of the season, followed by markers from Keough, Vyper (1g-5a), and Gino (2g-1a) in succession before Chip Chapman (6g-2a) broke the seal for the Blue Devils. Keough closed out the first quarter with a sick snipe to the top right corner off the down low feed from Vyper. Kyle Maniace (2g-2a) scored one and set up Chapman with another to equal Thunder's two tallies in the second. It was Vyper feeding the ball out front for both Keough and A-Pres who would each find the mark to make it 7-3 Thunder at the half.
Third quarter saw Chapman and Maniaci combine to notch 3 more goals for Batavia, but Thunder pulled away with five in the twine, two by Merola (3g) and three from hot-hand Keough (7g). Unable to score on numerous attempts at the overhead shot, Vyper thought he would try his hand at an overhead pass instead and as luck would have it he connected with Keough for a goal. Keough picked up the trash and put away the next one on his own and his third in the third was assisted by A-Pres. Merola's markers consisted of a top left corner snipe, assisted by G-Pres, and a solo finish after scooping the ball out of a mosh pit. And so it was 12-6 Thunder going into the final frame.
Chapman finished strong for Batavia with 2+2 in the fourth, assisting on two goals by Will Mulcahy. Thunder kept it real with three more to get-R-dun, as Vyper connected the dots with Keough for the fourth time, G-Pres went han solo, and Merola capped it off at 15 to get Joey Flores his first varisty point with the assist.
GTLAX Game Report - May 8 @ GL
While enjoying the relative warmth of the Hockey rinks up north in Markham, Ontario, I am told by Coach Perry that the Greece Thunder blew away the Greece Lightning like a balloon in a gale force wind, with a convincing 13-7 division win on Saturday at Arcadia. Apparently, it was quite windy for the first "Storm Game" of the season and I suspect if you asked the Lightning players they might have told you they felt like they were no longer in Kansas, as Thunder led this one from start to finish.
Gino Prestigiacomo (4g-4a) got his team on the board quickly with two fast breaks to start the game. Then on the first man-up, Tyler Gorgione (4g) scored on a feed from Anthony Merola (1g-1a) out of the corner. Two minutes later Giorgione rallied again, this time unassisted. And before the quarter was out, it was Merola's turn to tally as he made a nice cut from the low corner, received a feed from G-Pres up top and put it away to close out the first quarter with a commanding 5-0 lead.
The second quarter was much closer, with Thunder scoring four goals and the Lightning putting up three. Gorgione counted a man-up goal for Thunder after taking a feed from G-Pres, popping, rolling, and smoothing it upper corner. Next up was Dan Vyverberg (2g-1a) with his first of the game, assisted by Andrew Prestigiacomo. With three minutes to the half, Rich Fischer (2g) scored unassisted to finally put Lightning on the board and then Billy Slappar (2g) followed it up with another score, this one assisted by Kendrick Heintzelman (2g-2a). Thunder answered right back as Gino sailed a pass to Matt Keough (2g) for the corner shot finish before getting his own on the subsequent drive. Fischer resurfaced for the Lightning with 13 ticks left on the clock, sneaking one by Rudgers, assisted by Heintzelman, to help his team hang on at 11-3 going to the half.
After the half the Lightning started to run the ball, while the Thunder offense made a few passing mistakes, allowing the Lightning to win the third quarter 4-2 on 2 tallies by Heintzelman, 1 for Slapar and 1 from Dylan Mahan. Scoring in the third for Thunder were Gino and Vyper.
Thunder closed out the final quarter winning 2-0, spending most of the time controlling the ball on offense. Keough and Giorgione scored assisted by Vyper and Tromboli respectively. Brandon Cheeseman had ten ground balls and brought the ball from defense to offense a number of times. Gino Prestigiacomo controlled the face-offs today and also picked up a total of ten ground balls himself. This win advances Thunder's record to 6-5.
Gino Prestigiacomo (4g-4a) got his team on the board quickly with two fast breaks to start the game. Then on the first man-up, Tyler Gorgione (4g) scored on a feed from Anthony Merola (1g-1a) out of the corner. Two minutes later Giorgione rallied again, this time unassisted. And before the quarter was out, it was Merola's turn to tally as he made a nice cut from the low corner, received a feed from G-Pres up top and put it away to close out the first quarter with a commanding 5-0 lead.
The second quarter was much closer, with Thunder scoring four goals and the Lightning putting up three. Gorgione counted a man-up goal for Thunder after taking a feed from G-Pres, popping, rolling, and smoothing it upper corner. Next up was Dan Vyverberg (2g-1a) with his first of the game, assisted by Andrew Prestigiacomo. With three minutes to the half, Rich Fischer (2g) scored unassisted to finally put Lightning on the board and then Billy Slappar (2g) followed it up with another score, this one assisted by Kendrick Heintzelman (2g-2a). Thunder answered right back as Gino sailed a pass to Matt Keough (2g) for the corner shot finish before getting his own on the subsequent drive. Fischer resurfaced for the Lightning with 13 ticks left on the clock, sneaking one by Rudgers, assisted by Heintzelman, to help his team hang on at 11-3 going to the half.
After the half the Lightning started to run the ball, while the Thunder offense made a few passing mistakes, allowing the Lightning to win the third quarter 4-2 on 2 tallies by Heintzelman, 1 for Slapar and 1 from Dylan Mahan. Scoring in the third for Thunder were Gino and Vyper.
Thunder closed out the final quarter winning 2-0, spending most of the time controlling the ball on offense. Keough and Giorgione scored assisted by Vyper and Tromboli respectively. Brandon Cheeseman had ten ground balls and brought the ball from defense to offense a number of times. Gino Prestigiacomo controlled the face-offs today and also picked up a total of ten ground balls himself. This win advances Thunder's record to 6-5.
GTLAX Game Report - May 6 @ ER
It was a 7:45pm start under the lights @ Don Quinn Field on Thurs May 6 with the East Rochester Bombers hosting the Greece Thunder for their second meeting of a rapidly waning season. Thunder snapped a 4-game slide and advanced their record to 5-5, with an exciting 11-10 OT victory over the ER Bombers to sweep their series.
Name of the game is possession and this game was no exception for Thunder as they won two thirds of the draws 14/21 and beat ER 45-35 in the ground ball department, led by Gino Prestigiacomo (12gb) and Brandon Cheeseman (11gb, 1a). Thunder capitalized on 2 of 6 EMO, whereas ER went only 2 for 9. Funniest play of the game, perhaps the season, would have to be when Cheeseman lifted one of the Bombers sticks sending it some 12 feet in the air with the ball still in the crosse. He is strong like bull.
Greece came out flat with no shots in the first and thus no goals (100% of the shots you don't take don't go in) while watching ER hit the mark 4 times with a pair of goals from Raymond Shalvoy (3g), one from Clayton Vaughn (3g-1a), and one from Darnell Rhodes (1g-1a). Thunder came alive in the second scoring the next 4 goals to even up, one of which was by freshman Anthony Merola (2g), assisted by senior midi Parker Bonis for his first varsity point. Greece then traded goals with ER, but the Bombers had the last word as Vaughn would tally again, assisted by Jordan Michele (1g-3a) and it was 6-5 ER at the half.
ER widened their lead to 9-7 in the third, outscoring Thunder 3-2 on goals by Shalvoy, Vaughn, and Michele. Matt Keough (5a) setup three Thunder goals in the fourth, one by Tyler Gorgione (2g) and a pair by Gino Prestigiacomo (4g-1a), to just one by Nick Reiss (1g-1a) for the Bombers, as regulation expired with the game knotted at 10's.
Two minutes into the first overtime period Dan Vyverberg (3g) netted the winner with a second effort, after taking a feed from Keough at the side of the cage, rolling, firing at close range, scooping his own rebound, and changing his plane to finish over the ER cager's head. The Bombers faithful were crying "in the crease" but the stripes maintained that the ball had broken the plane of the goal mouth before Vyverberg touched the crease, as he was pushed from behind. Liridon Dervisholli (8s/11ga/50mins) and Zach Rudgers (11s/10ga/50mins) played the entire game in the nets for their respective teams, but it was Rudgers going the distance and holding on for the win.
Name of the game is possession and this game was no exception for Thunder as they won two thirds of the draws 14/21 and beat ER 45-35 in the ground ball department, led by Gino Prestigiacomo (12gb) and Brandon Cheeseman (11gb, 1a). Thunder capitalized on 2 of 6 EMO, whereas ER went only 2 for 9. Funniest play of the game, perhaps the season, would have to be when Cheeseman lifted one of the Bombers sticks sending it some 12 feet in the air with the ball still in the crosse. He is strong like bull.
Greece came out flat with no shots in the first and thus no goals (100% of the shots you don't take don't go in) while watching ER hit the mark 4 times with a pair of goals from Raymond Shalvoy (3g), one from Clayton Vaughn (3g-1a), and one from Darnell Rhodes (1g-1a). Thunder came alive in the second scoring the next 4 goals to even up, one of which was by freshman Anthony Merola (2g), assisted by senior midi Parker Bonis for his first varsity point. Greece then traded goals with ER, but the Bombers had the last word as Vaughn would tally again, assisted by Jordan Michele (1g-3a) and it was 6-5 ER at the half.
ER widened their lead to 9-7 in the third, outscoring Thunder 3-2 on goals by Shalvoy, Vaughn, and Michele. Matt Keough (5a) setup three Thunder goals in the fourth, one by Tyler Gorgione (2g) and a pair by Gino Prestigiacomo (4g-1a), to just one by Nick Reiss (1g-1a) for the Bombers, as regulation expired with the game knotted at 10's.
Two minutes into the first overtime period Dan Vyverberg (3g) netted the winner with a second effort, after taking a feed from Keough at the side of the cage, rolling, firing at close range, scooping his own rebound, and changing his plane to finish over the ER cager's head. The Bombers faithful were crying "in the crease" but the stripes maintained that the ball had broken the plane of the goal mouth before Vyverberg touched the crease, as he was pushed from behind. Liridon Dervisholli (8s/11ga/50mins) and Zach Rudgers (11s/10ga/50mins) played the entire game in the nets for their respective teams, but it was Rudgers going the distance and holding on for the win.
GTLAX Game Report - May 4 vs Eastridge
Party people in the house put your hands together and give it up for Renee Wyzykowski, sister of Thunder attackman Clay Wyzykowski, for her sultry anthem debut at Thunder Field. Randy Jackson said it was "a-ight", but this announcer has only three words... welcome to Hollywood... and how about a warm Thunder shout-out to their dad Eric who was celebrating his 50th birthday!
Did anyone happen to see the dark cloud looming over Athena Stadium on Tuesday nite? While it only released a few drops of rain, it was hanging over the Thunder stickmen's heads all game long. There were missed passes, dropped balls, and flags a flying all over the place, leaving fans scratching their heads as the stripes struggled to keep things moving. Throughout the Cirque de slow game, Thunder simply could not catch a break as they went to the box 15 times, including twice in regulation for a 3 minute non-releaseable stick violation and twice in OT on marginal calls, compared to just 6 fouls called on Eastridge all tolled.
There were so many mystery calls that we could have used Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby to help figure it all out. Speaking of Scooby, we did see quite a few appearances by Chris D'Ambrosia chipping in and helping out on D with Thunder's many man down situations. Eastridge managed to capitalize four times on their abundance of EMOs (that's Extra Man Opportunities) but Thunder could only convert once. When all was said and done, 6 periods and some 3 hours after the first face, Eastridge midfielder Mike Mortillaro scored to lift the Lancers (1-9) to their first W of the year in sudden death double overtime.
By the numbers, Thunder owned the face-off circle winning two-thirds of the draws -15 for 22 - and also winning the ground ball battle 58 to 39, led by Gino Prestigiacomo (15gb) and Brandon Cheeseman (13gb). Ethan Printy scooped up 10 for Eastridge. Both Rudgers (9s/11ga/54mins) and Ennis (14s/10ga/54mins) played well in the nets, but Ennis held out for the win.
First quarter was all Lancers as they recorded 3 markers by Stewart, Hess, and Printy, while Thunder fumbled about. But with 2 secs left on the clock, G-Pres muscled one by Ennis to put his team on the board. Giruzzi (3g-2a) tallied for the Lancers to open the second but Gino (3g-2a) answered right back for Thunder with another ISO finish right off the face. Then it was Mortillaro taking a turn for Eastridge and back to Tyler Gorgione (3g-1a) with a wraparound for Thunder. Next up to the plate was Eric Hostetter (1g-1a) hitting the twine for Thunder assisted by Andrew Prestigiacomo, principal of PCS Senior Networking. Mortillaro (3g-1a), Printy (2g) and Burley got the next 3 for Eastridge and then Gorgione burned one by Ennis to finish off the quarter, assisted by E-Hots. The play was originated by Vyper as he pulled a long pole to the corner and beat him back to the box before dishing to Hots who quickly bumped it to Gorgione for the shot. Nice teamwork boys!
Tried to get Renee to do an encore at the half but she declined, oh well, maybe next time :) Must have been a good talk by Coach Perry as his team came out and dominated the third with 3 unanswered goals to tie the game at 8s. First up was Tyler Gorgione burying his third on the night, then it was Matt Keough, assisted by Gino, and finally, after being snake-bit the entire game, Dan Vyverberg beat Ennis with a bounce shot under the crossbar off the fastbreak feed from Gorgione.
Fourth quarter featured the stylings of Chris Giruzzi with a pair for Eastridge and G-Pres with 1 and 1 for Greece, as he setup a goal by Thunder attackman Anthony Merola. And so it was knotted at 10s goiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnn to overtime! Thunder had their chances in the first OT but no dice. Unfortunately for Greece, Mortillaro got loose to win it for Eastridge midway through the second and final overtime period.
Your PCS Senior Networking stars of the game for Greece would be:
1. B, Brandon Cheeseman that is, who intercepted countless Lancer passes with his goliath reach, shut down numerous fast breaks and rushed for over 300 yards. He was like Visa - everywhere we needed him to be!
2. Tyler Gorgione, who played well at both ends of the field, forcing turnovers, moving the ball, hitting hard and scoring (3g-1a) to boot. It is also noteworthy that he has one of the largest personal fan bases in Section V.
3. Gino Prestigiacomo, who was a key contributor from winning face offs to playing physical all over the field and posting impressive numbers (15gb and 5pts).
Your PCS Senior Networking stars of the game for Eastridge would be:
1. Chris Giruzzi with 3g-2a for 5 points.
2. Mike Mortillaro with 3g-1a for 4 points, including the winner in 2OT.
3. TJ Ennis with 14s/10ga/54mins in the cage.
Thunder is on the road to ER for round 2 with the bombers today, Thursday 6-May, a late game under the lights, 7:45pm start. Be there or miss out on all the heart pounding, fist pumping action as Thunder attempts to break their 4-game slide.
Did anyone happen to see the dark cloud looming over Athena Stadium on Tuesday nite? While it only released a few drops of rain, it was hanging over the Thunder stickmen's heads all game long. There were missed passes, dropped balls, and flags a flying all over the place, leaving fans scratching their heads as the stripes struggled to keep things moving. Throughout the Cirque de slow game, Thunder simply could not catch a break as they went to the box 15 times, including twice in regulation for a 3 minute non-releaseable stick violation and twice in OT on marginal calls, compared to just 6 fouls called on Eastridge all tolled.
There were so many mystery calls that we could have used Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby to help figure it all out. Speaking of Scooby, we did see quite a few appearances by Chris D'Ambrosia chipping in and helping out on D with Thunder's many man down situations. Eastridge managed to capitalize four times on their abundance of EMOs (that's Extra Man Opportunities) but Thunder could only convert once. When all was said and done, 6 periods and some 3 hours after the first face, Eastridge midfielder Mike Mortillaro scored to lift the Lancers (1-9) to their first W of the year in sudden death double overtime.
By the numbers, Thunder owned the face-off circle winning two-thirds of the draws -15 for 22 - and also winning the ground ball battle 58 to 39, led by Gino Prestigiacomo (15gb) and Brandon Cheeseman (13gb). Ethan Printy scooped up 10 for Eastridge. Both Rudgers (9s/11ga/54mins) and Ennis (14s/10ga/54mins) played well in the nets, but Ennis held out for the win.
First quarter was all Lancers as they recorded 3 markers by Stewart, Hess, and Printy, while Thunder fumbled about. But with 2 secs left on the clock, G-Pres muscled one by Ennis to put his team on the board. Giruzzi (3g-2a) tallied for the Lancers to open the second but Gino (3g-2a) answered right back for Thunder with another ISO finish right off the face. Then it was Mortillaro taking a turn for Eastridge and back to Tyler Gorgione (3g-1a) with a wraparound for Thunder. Next up to the plate was Eric Hostetter (1g-1a) hitting the twine for Thunder assisted by Andrew Prestigiacomo, principal of PCS Senior Networking. Mortillaro (3g-1a), Printy (2g) and Burley got the next 3 for Eastridge and then Gorgione burned one by Ennis to finish off the quarter, assisted by E-Hots. The play was originated by Vyper as he pulled a long pole to the corner and beat him back to the box before dishing to Hots who quickly bumped it to Gorgione for the shot. Nice teamwork boys!
Tried to get Renee to do an encore at the half but she declined, oh well, maybe next time :) Must have been a good talk by Coach Perry as his team came out and dominated the third with 3 unanswered goals to tie the game at 8s. First up was Tyler Gorgione burying his third on the night, then it was Matt Keough, assisted by Gino, and finally, after being snake-bit the entire game, Dan Vyverberg beat Ennis with a bounce shot under the crossbar off the fastbreak feed from Gorgione.
Fourth quarter featured the stylings of Chris Giruzzi with a pair for Eastridge and G-Pres with 1 and 1 for Greece, as he setup a goal by Thunder attackman Anthony Merola. And so it was knotted at 10s goiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnn to overtime! Thunder had their chances in the first OT but no dice. Unfortunately for Greece, Mortillaro got loose to win it for Eastridge midway through the second and final overtime period.
Your PCS Senior Networking stars of the game for Greece would be:
1. B, Brandon Cheeseman that is, who intercepted countless Lancer passes with his goliath reach, shut down numerous fast breaks and rushed for over 300 yards. He was like Visa - everywhere we needed him to be!
2. Tyler Gorgione, who played well at both ends of the field, forcing turnovers, moving the ball, hitting hard and scoring (3g-1a) to boot. It is also noteworthy that he has one of the largest personal fan bases in Section V.
3. Gino Prestigiacomo, who was a key contributor from winning face offs to playing physical all over the field and posting impressive numbers (15gb and 5pts).
Your PCS Senior Networking stars of the game for Eastridge would be:
1. Chris Giruzzi with 3g-2a for 5 points.
2. Mike Mortillaro with 3g-1a for 4 points, including the winner in 2OT.
3. TJ Ennis with 14s/10ga/54mins in the cage.
Thunder is on the road to ER for round 2 with the bombers today, Thursday 6-May, a late game under the lights, 7:45pm start. Be there or miss out on all the heart pounding, fist pumping action as Thunder attempts to break their 4-game slide.
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