May 9
Falcons Soar to Final Four With an Upset Over Myers Park Mustangs, 18-12

Logan Kaznowski won the draw from Lauren "Coz" Cosentino, then passed it back to her for the first point. Coz, taking her own draw, ran down the Cozway for a solo point. And just like that, 2 points in 27 seconds, without even giving the host Mustangs a chance to touch the ball. But it didn't stop there. Minutes later, Coz, from a Deirdre O'Connor pass, cut in and scored again. Just 12 seconds later, Brittany Ruppert, from the draw, connected to Kelly Reiser, 4-0. The Mustangs recovered from the initial assault to put 2 on the board (one on penalty), but the Falcons attacked right back. In yet another quick play from the draw, Ruppert took a pass from Coz and gunned it in from the side. After attacking Katie Worsdale twice on shot attempts, a crease roll and a bounce shot gave the Mustangs their next 2 points. When Coz's next slam bounced off the goalie's ankle, Kaznowski scooped up the rebound and passed it to Ruppert, who did a double-spin at the end of a run to slam the next point in. Coz quick-sticked the next point from a pass by Kelly Reiser. Kaznowski followed up with a penalty point. After several minutes of turnovers via ground ball tussles, effective checks and failed scoring attempts, the Mustangs broke through the Falcon defense on a decoy for their next point. Less than a minute later, Rachel Chapla worked hard for the next point when she dodged, ducked and weaved through a gauntlet of Mustangs on penalty. Coz's next goal (at 8 meters out!) was declared no good: dangerous follow-through...yellow card. (When Coz shoots, stay out of the way!) With 39 seconds left, O'Connor intercepted at the crease and handidly put it in, 10-5.

The 2nd half did not start off with a point rack-up like the 1st half, but even so, the crowd experienced one heart-stopping moment after another. Alannah Garcia took the draw, which the Mustangs won. Ali Brown got the ground ball (cheer!) but the Mustangs won it back (groan!). Chapla and Casey Reiser blocked runners, and Worsdale saved on a crease roll (cheer!). Her clear connected to Kelly Reiser, whose shot attempt (cheer!) was denied (groan!) The Mustangs took it in from out of bounds, but wait! They're off-sides! (Cheer!) A series of nice Falcon passes ended in the Mustangs winning the ground ball (groan!). But Jenna Lang intercepted (cheer!) and shot (cheer!) and missed (groan!). The Mustangs got the ground ball, but O'Connor got it back on a forced turnover (cheer!). At the end of a beautiful transition, Coz passed to Ruppert for a spin and shoot at the crease (really loud cheer!).

Then the points started racking up again. The Mustangs quickly responded from the next draw with a quick-stick. O'Connor scored again at the crease from a pass by Kaznowski. Kaznowski got the ground ball from the draw, lost it, got it again, lost it again at the crease, then got into a fierce ground ball tussle. In the ensuing confusion, the ball entered the cage. But the point was no good because the ball was kicked in (at least it looked that way in the stands). When a Mustang overshot, the ball went out of bounds. Casey Reiser took it in, and sister Kelly was at the other end of a series of perfect passes (via Coz and Ruppert) to score the next point. The Mustangs answered back on a crease roll, but Ruppert, on a flip-pass from Kelly Reiser, scored again. In a disappointing moment, Ruppert's next goal was declared no good due to a Mustang foul, but on the penalty shot, she was given a yellow card when her shot hit a defender (Really big groan! Ouch.). Kaznowski connected to Coz at the 8 meter for the next slam-in. The Mustangs responded with a quick-stick goal, followed by an easy shot on an empty goal. (Pushing on Worsdale?!?) The crowd went wild when Kay Kay Keung and Lang (twice) made shot attempts. The next Mustang point was self-inflicted by a goalie-interception-attempt-gone-bad. The moms responded by giving Worsdale some good energy. "Kay-TEE! Kay-TEE! Kay-TEE! We love you!" was heard throughout the stadium. Ruppert's next goal was once again declared no good due to a Mustang foul before the shot. This time she delivered, being careful not to hit ANYBODY. Coz then slammed in a penalty point of her own to up the score, 17-10.

For several more minutes, the Falcons and Mustangs put pressure on each other, forcing turnovers, getting ground balls, and making shot attempts. The Mustangs finally broke through on a crease roll, but when Brown forced the next turnover and Kaznowski, Kelly Reiser and Coz played catch to transition the ball downfield, Chapla was ready at the crease to slam it in. Determined to get the last word in, the Mustangs scored with 13 seconds to spare.

The defense contributed greatly to the team's victory, with Brown, Mandy Blackburn and Christina Demetros blocking runners and forcing turnovers and Worsdale making spectacular saves. The crowd cheered wildly every time the Falcons made beautiful passes, intercepted, forced turnovers, drew fouls, won intense ground ball tussles, scored points (especially on those many fast breaks from the draw) and denied the Mustangs a chance to score. And they groaned loudly when shots were denied, points were declared no good, and the persistent Mustangs took possession. But those moments came fast and furious, and in one of the most exciting games the crowd has seen, cheering and screaming was practically non-stop. Thank goodness for time-outs and half-time to rest those vocal chords!

Contributed by Ri-Shea Schlitter

Photos contributed by Scott Brown