May 5
Falcons Foil Playoff Dreams of the Tenacious Wakefield Wolverines, 17-12

A faster, stronger Wakefield Wolverine team scored the first point but only held this lead for 24 seconds. Brittany Ruppert won out on a ground ball tussle and passed it off to Jenna Lang, who connected to Kelly "Quick-Stick" Reiser for the first Falcon point. Logan Kaznowski passed to Lauren "Coz" Cosentino, who pirouetted and stuffed the next point in. Christina Demetros and Elba Olivero were indomitable forces on defense, blocking crease rolls and forcing turnovers. Katie Worsdale wowed the crowd with a couple of blocks on crease rolls. A clear to Kelly Reiser connected to Brittany Ruppert for a slam dunk. After a quick point from the draw by the Wolverines, Coz took just 2 steps from a Ruppert pass to slam in the next point.

The Wolverine offense put the pressure on the Falcon defense, but the Falcons responded well. Casey Reiser, Demetros and Ali Brown formed an impenetrable wall, Jenna Lang forced a turnover, and Katie Worsdale wowed the crowd with a pair of saves. But a temporary lapse in the Falcon wall allowed the Wolverines to score three quick points to overtake the Falcons, 4-5. Sister act Casey (assisting) and Kelly Reiser started the comeback with renewed energy. Chapla followed suit with a score on penalty. The fans experienced several exciting moments when Brown drew a charge, Mandy Blackburn, Casey Reiser, Ruppert and Chapla forced turnovers, Worsdale made heart-stopping saves, and Chapla and Kelly Reiser made slammed attempts at goal. But it was Casey Reiser's interception that gave Coz the chance to slam one in on the run. Thirteen seconds later, Kelly Reiser, on an unbelievable ankle-high catch from Ruppert, put the next one in. With one minute left in the half, the Wolverines scored, but the Falcons had the last word with 8.3 seconds left when Ruppert slammed one in at 7 meters from a Casey Reiser pass to end the half 9-6.

A few drops of rain had the fans a little worried at half-time, as did the first Wolverine point of the second half. The fans breathed a little easier when Demetros made an interception and passed it off to Ruppert for a run and slam, followed by Casey Reiser running straight into the Wolverine den on a pass from Kaznowski. The Wolverines had to attack Worsdale 3 times before scoring the next point, then followed up with a bounce slam. On an exciting save, Worsdale cleared to Lang, who allowed Ruppert to slam the next one in. After the Wolverines scored on a penalty point, Lang took the pass from Deirdre O'Connor to score from 4 meters. The Wolverines narrowed the gap with 2 more points, but not before "ooh" after "ooh" was heard from the fans as first O'Connor shot, then Kay Kay Keung, then Ruppert, then O'Connor and Keung once again, each time denied.

Realizing that a 1-point lead was just too close for comfort, O'Connor finally hit the back of the net on a quick stick when Ruppert connected from the draw. When Demetros made an interception, her pass to O'Connor resulted in a quick-stick by Kelly Reiser for the next point. Ruppert scored next when she scooped up a ground ball and slammed it in. Lang's ground ball win and pass to Chapla allowed Coz to slam the next one in at the crease.

No more scores were made in the last 7 minutes, but the crowd was still on the edge of their seats. Casey Reiser swats away a pass! Yeah! Kaznowski and Brown block a runner! Worsdale saves! Yeah! Worsdale deflects a shot! Worsdale saves again! Yeah! Coz shoots! O'Connor scores! Yeah! But wait, off-sides! No point! Ooooooh! O'Connor tries a crease roll! Keung shoots again! Ooh! Lang forces a turnover! Yeah! Kelly Reiser shoots! Ooh! O'Connor gets the ground ball! Worsdale saves a penalty shot! Lang wins a ground ball! Yeah!

The game won out over the weather for a change, and the Falcon fans left dry and pleased that Senior Night turned out so well for the team.

Contributed by Ri-Shea Schlitter

• Game Day Program Contributed by Rebecca Brophy

Photos contributed by Scott Brown