Buckley Varsity Lacrosse vs. Allen-Stevenson
The Buckley Varsity Lacrosse team played a thrilling game against league rival Allen-Stevenson yesterday afternoon that finished tied 6-6 after two overtime periods. A bit of gamesmanship from the opposition had the Buckley team waiting for the opening whistle, but the veterans in blue didn’t fall for it. Despite an opening face-off win by Allen-Stevenson’s #28, Buckley got the ball back almost immediately, and starting attackman Gage Spolansky scored his first goal of the season with a beautiful finish off a feed from ninth-grade captain Will Hay. Despite long periods of possession, the Blue Demons found themselves down 3-1 at the half.
In an impressive show of resiliency, Buckley came out flying in the second half and went on to mount comeback after comeback. When the referee changed his whistle cadence at the urging of the coaches, he caught Allen-Stevenson jumping on the faceoff, and the Blue Demons didn’t waste the ensuing possession. Spolansky—man-marked all afternoon by the opponent’s best and biggest defenseman—pulled off a spectacular swim dodge to split two defenders and scored another beauty for his second of the game, with the assist credited to seventh-grade stick-handling defenseman J.D. Wieland. Down by only one headed into the fourth quarter, Buckley had the momentum on their side, but it was quickly extinguished by several penalty calls that had the team playing man-down for half the final quarter. The man-down unit of Wieland, George Coumantaros, Arthur Renehan, Philip Weymouth, and Michael Hennessy did outstanding work all afternoon, along with substitute man-down player Pierce Bausano, and kept the game close.
Bolstered by the performance of their defense and spectacular play from substitute goalie Colin Bailey, the midfielders went to work and took over the game. Hay and Hennessy, along with ninth-grade captain Addison Davenport and face-off specialist Austin Sanders dominated large stretches of the fourth. When Allen-Stevenson pulled ahead 4-2, Sanders caught a pass from Davenport and rifled a gorgeous overhand shot past the opponent’s talented goalie. And, when Davenport found classmate Hay open with space to shoot, Hay made no mistake and found the back of the net to tie the game at 4-4. Allen-Stevenson would pull ahead again on yet another man-advantage with less than a minute to play, but Buckley was not nearly finished. Davenport, playing the best passing game of his career, found Hennessy at the top of the box, and the seventh-grade powerhouse scored an absolutely gorgeous goal to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Two overtime periods were played, both two minutes long and neither “sudden victory.” This format worked in Buckley’s favor, however, as Allen-Stevenson won the opening faceoff and scored an outside shot to take a 6-5 lead. The Blue Demons, who had been coming from behind all afternoon, would not be denied. And, with less than a minute left on the clock, Davenport found Hay, and Hay once again found the back of the net to set off a raucous celebration on the packed Buckley sideline. With all the momentum, Buckley hoped to pull off a miraculous win, but time expired before they could get off a final shot.
Buckley proved on the afternoon that they are not just a team flush with talent but also one overflowing with heart, pride and determination. And, with Allen-Stevenson hosting a tournament at the end of the season, the Blue Demons cannot wait to take the field against them again.
The team would like to thank all the parents, students, faculty and friends who came out and made an away game feel like a home one. The atmosphere was electric, and the players fed off that energy. Another crucial league matchup awaits the team next Tuesday, May 5th, when they take on St. Bernard’s at 3:30pm on Randall’s Island Field #85.
Game Statistics – Buckley vs Allen-Stevenson, 5/3/2012
Scoring (G-A): Will Hay 2-1, Gage Spolansky, 2-0, Michael Hennessy 1-0, Austin Sanders 1-0, Addison Davenport 0-4, J.D. Wieland 0-1
Goalie Summary: Colin Bailey 24:00 minutes, 6 saves, 3 goals allowed; Oliver Senbahar 12:00 minutes, 2 saves, 3 goals allowed
Shots (Shots-SOG): 25-14
Shots Allowed: 18
Ground Balls: 26
Face-offs (W-L): 9-9
Penalties: 7-6:30
