Scoring for West Genesee were Mike Fletcher (3g), David Procopio (2g), Nick Cunningham (1g-1a), Conor Bartlett (1g), Ryan McDonald (1g) and Tyler Shoults (1a). Goaltending: Nick O`Neil 10s/7ga (59%).
Five Late Goals give WG Win Over Pittsford
2015-06-03 - West Genesee scored five unanswered goals spanning the second through fourth quarters to defeat Pittsford 8-7. The Wildcats will face Niskayuna in the State Finals at Vestal on Saturday. The game came down to consistent offense versus high powered unsettled play. The Panthers were much more flexible and willing to find openings in whatever they were presented. The Wildcats played strong consistent offensive for four quarters and slowly chipped away at an early Pittsford lead.
West Genesee had stand out performances from face off midfielder David Procopio (70% at draw), attackman Mike Fletcher (3g) and goalie Nick O'Neil. O`Neil finished with 10 saves (59%) and held the Panthers scoreless for over 24 minutes. The Panthers had strong performances from goalie Kevin Maguire, midfielder James Felix and defenseman Jared Connors. Maguire finished with 15 saves at 65% and made a number of impressive saves. Alec Starr played the final two minutes of the contest in an attempt to get the ball back from the Wildcat offense. Connors finished with a team leading 10 ground balls and two takes. Felix finished with 7 shots (4 on cage and 2 goals) for Pittsford. His two goals were two of only three settled goals for Pittsford.
Pittsford used multiple unsettled situations and on the fly substitutions in the first half to take a strong lead. The Panthers scored the first two goals. James Felix subbed onto the field on the fly and immediately got the ball. He drove straight to the cage and scored unassisted with 10:22 remaining in the first quarter. A minute and half later the Panthers scored their first unsettled goal. John Galbraith assisted Jonathan Perotto on a cross-crease fast-break goal for Pittsford. The Wildcats scored the next two goals to tie the game. Both goals came from drives from behind the cage. Nick Cunningham scored the opening goal and Mike Fletcher scored the second goal.
The Panthers kept their pressure going into the final five minutes with three more goals. The first was scored the same way as their opening goal. Felix subbed onto the field and took the ball straight to the goal. The next two goals were back to back fast-break goals for Pittsford. Ryan Fairbrother assisted Jack Kaufman for the first goal and Colby Barker scored unassisted for the second goal. The Panthers led 5-2 after the first quarter.
The next three quarters belonged to the Wildcats. They outscored Pittsford 2-1, 1-0 and 3-1 to take the win. Ryan McDonald scored his lone goal of the contest 0:33 into the second quarter. 
The contest continued to go back and forth before Pittsford scored a fast-break goal during a man-down situation. Kaufman took a running shot at the cage that was stopped by O'Neil. He scooped up his own loose ball and scored on the rebound shot. West Genesee scored their next goal on man-up with Procopio scoring on a feed from Tyler Shoults. Shoults finished with five ground balls to lead the Wildcats. Pittsford held on 6-4 at halftime.
In the third quarter, West Genesee scored the lone goal with their third drive from behind the cage. Fletcher scored his second goal with 1:44 remaining in the quarter. Pittsford held on at 6-5 after three quarters. The Wildcats score the first three goals of the final quarter to take their first lead of the game. Procopio tied the game on a broken clear that began with a knockdown by McDonald and a ground ball by Shoults. The first, and last, lead for the Wildcats came at 6:06 remaining in regulation. Conor Bartlett scored during a fast-break. Their final goal was scored by Fletcher. He scored three goals on three shots for West Genesee. Pittsford attempted the comeback and scored the last goal of the game. Brandon Barker scored his lone goal on his sixth shot of the game, to bring it within a single goal. Barker had the last shot of the contest, but O'Neil stepped up for a big save. The game concluded with West Genesee running out the clock behind the cage.
