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Marmion counter earns a 1-0 win over East Aurora By Eddie Burns
The Cadets and Tomcats were scoreless at intermission, but much of the halftime discussion in the Marmion huddle centered about trying to change the field of play quickly. “We talked about reducing the space they had to work with the ball because they are so dangerous with it,” O’Connor said. “We talked about making quicker counters and we talked about the need defend all over the field.” O’Connor’s players listened and it resulted in the winning goal. In the 60th minute, the Tomcats had possession deep in the Cadets’ end, but when Marmion gained possession it swiftly moved the ball up the field. Jeff Martin found Max Rosenfelder near midfield. At that moment, Sam Duffield sprinted ahead as Rosenfelder played the ball to Duffield and he gained possession. Duffield made a touch and then flipped a shot into the net to give Marmion a 1-0 lead. The Cadets then hunkered down defensively to escape East Aurora with the one-goal win. “Max played a great ball and I did the rest,” said Duffield, who now has 12 goals. “We knew that when (East Aurora) had the ball that they played a really high back line and the second we gained possession they would drop off. We knew if we reacted fast enough we’d be able to get the ball in behind them. I called to Max and he played a great ball to me. I got a good touch on it and I was able to put it away.” Marmion (10-5-1) started off slow and was unable to get a shot on the East Aurora (7-4-1) net in the first half. O’Connor was extremely pleased with the way his team responded. “I thought our concentration and focus was as good as it’s been all year,” O’Connor said. “The first 15 minutes I didn’t feel that way, but I felt that because we respected East Aurora so much that it caused us to play a little bit timid. We were giving them too much space and we took that away in the second half.” Once the Cadets had their lead, they packed it in tight on defense. Defenders Alex Ruble, Sam Soliz, Steve Anderson and Elliot Anderson helped out while sophomore goalie Bradley White did a bulk of the dirty work. White came up big and finished the match with 13 saves. “It felt good once we finally (scored) and I just knew that it was my time to shut them down,” White said. “We locked down defensively and knew we had to the win. Shutting them down is what it was all about.”
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Man of the match: Bradley White By Eddie Burns
White’s injury allowed junior Evan Lefelstein to earn a lot of playing time and take his game to a new level. While Lefelstein was helping the Cadets off to a fast start this season White continued to rehab and work his way back. White received a chance to show just how far he had come since suffering his injury when he returned to action last week. In two full games, he hasn’t allowed a goal. “We feel we have two keepers who we are really comfortable with,” O’Connor said “Brad’s been hot lately.” O’Connor told Lefelstein and White that the starter for the East Aurora match wouldn’t be determined until after warm-ups. White earned the nod and played one of his best games of his career by recording 13 saves. “I thought he read the game well,” O’Connor said. “He had good command of the box. Bradley through training and perseverance stuck with it and we feel we have two starting keepers.” White said he doesn’t mind the competition because he is enjoying his chance to play again. White came up big securing several saves in the final 20 minutes against East Aurora. “It was fun,” he said. “It always feels great to make a big stop. You just have to keep on going. It feels good to be back out there.”
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A simple reminder from coach Kevin O’Connor was all Marmion needed to get its act together against East Aurora.