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SECTION IV BOYS LACROSSE: OWEGO HOLDS OFF JC TO CLAIM FIRST TITLE (2019-05-23)

BY TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — Eleven minutes. That was the difference maker as Owego won its first-ever Section IV boys lacrosse championship here Thursday night.

The Indians scored seven consecutive goals in an 11-minute span to upend defending Class C champion Johnson City, 14-11, at Christy J. Valvo Stadium.

Owego head coach Andy Race noted the importance of that run.

“It was a great run,” he said. “We controlled the face-off X for that run and they were really struggling to find an answer for it. Our offense stalled out after that, so it was good that we put in as many as we did or it could have gotten ugly quick.”

Championship game MVP Connor Kinney picked up a hat trick and Justin Brown added two tallies in that span. The pair were responsible for turning a 5-5 deadlock into an 8-5 halftime lead, scoring three goals in the final 1:46 of the half.

Kinney made it 6-5 on a pass from Tyler Phelps, then added an unassisted goal with 35 seconds left before the break. Brown scored unassisted just 18 seconds later.

The late first-half surge was aided by a foul against JC goalie Brittan Stimak for an illegal body check on Cole Taylor near the midway point of the second quarter. Stimak headed to the bench with the score tied at four and Kaiden Flynn stepped in front of the net.

Flynn was tabbed as the Wildcats’ goalie prior to the start of the season, but personnel shortages forced a move to defender. Clearly, the time away from goal showed as Owego exploited a weakness, shooting low to Flynn’s right to create some halftime space.

Stimak would return for the second half, but the momentum was still flowing in the Indians’ direction.

Ben Miller scored on a Tyler Phelps feed 49 seconds into the third period for a 9-5 advantage.

The next two goals, by Kinney and Brown, came just 32 seconds apart. Kinney scored unassisted at 6:57 and Brown tallied on a  pass from Luke Maslin at 6:25.

Taylor scored on a pass from Kinney at 4:24, giving the Indians a 12-5 cushion.

That’s when things got interesting.

Billy Kozloski broke the string of goals on a pass from Jake Carpenter at 2:54 to swing the momentum the Wildcats’ way.

Brandon Warren scored 20 seconds into the final period the, following an Owego goal at 9:54, Warren scored again.

Kozloski scored with 5:20 on the clock, then Cade Dino won the face-off and dashed down the field for a goal 15 seconds later, trimming the lead to 13-10.

With a lull in scoring and Johnson City still needing three goals, and  time becoming a factor, the Wildcats called a timeout at 2:15. They regrouped and cut the gap to 13-11 on Carpenter’s unassisted goal 30 seconds later.

“I think Johnson City just really kicked the intensity up on us and we tried to do a  little too much a couple of times,” Race said. “We tried to change what we were doing instead of sticking to our basics when they were pressuring us and overplaying us, and it cost us.

“Kudos to them for having that situation ready and pressuring us  that much and coming back. They played a heck of a game and that fourth quarter was unbelievable to try to coach against. They did great, but our guys, they played over the top tonight. They’ve wanted this for so long. They’ve worked of this for so long, so it’s just great.”

That last JC goal would go for naught as Taylor sealed the victory on a pass from Maslin with 1:12 to go.

The Wildcats posted the game’s initial goal on Warren’s unassisted score at 7:23 of the first quarter, but Tyler Phelps tied it up at 5:10 on a pass from Kinney.

After Gio Fabi forced a turnover, Brown dashed to the other end of the field to give Owego a 2-1 edge at 3:10.

Dino scored on pass from Warren at 2:27 to knot the game at two and JC went up 3-2 just 17 second into the second period on a Warren goal assisted by Kozloski.

Ben Miller tied the game back up at 10:03 and Tyler Phelps made it 4-3 on a pass from Kinney at at 9:30.

After Dino tied the game again at 7:49, this time at 4-4, Cooper Phelps put the Indians back ahead with an unassisted goal at 5:41.

Warren scored on a pass from Carpenter at 2:42 to tie the game for the final time.

“First one in school history,” Race said of the sectional title. “I didn’t know what to expect and it’s way more than I ever thought. It’s pretty incredible.

“These guys worked so hard and they earned this 100 percent. They deserve it and I’m just so happy for all these guys.”

“We’ve been working all year for this,” Kinney said. “About 360 days ago, we were on the other end of this. It sucked, looking around and seeing everybody crying. I just try to remember that moment and every day in practice, me and everybody, we just worked our hardest to try and get back here and get back on top.

“We’ve never won a sectional championship here before, so that’s something that we’ve been working on, is just putting numbers on that banner, because we’re one of the only ones in the gym that didn’t have anything. Now, I’m grateful that I can say I was on the team that put numbers on that banner.”

Owego receives a bye in the first round of the state playoffs, then faces the winner of Section III and Section X at Corning June 1.

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IN PHOTO 1: Owego head coach Andy Race hoists the championship plaque. … PHOTO 1 COURTESY OF CATHY DOANE. PHOTOS 2-24 BY TIM TAYLOR.


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