Men’s Soccer – Lakers Fall to Erie in Home Regional Playoff Game

CANANDAIGUA – The Lakers hosted a first round regional playoff game this past Saturday (10/20) at home where they took on the visiting Erie CC Kats.

Coming into the contest seeded eighth in its bracket, Finger Lakes fell to the ninth seeded Kats – 1-nil – in what was a tense, physical contest. On the overcast and somewhat misty day, both teams delivered a pair of half's that contained solid defensive efforts. The large crowd was not disappointed with the intensity and drive that the Lakers and Kats displayed in the weekend postseason matchup.

Saturday's game revealed no scoring until minute 81. It truly felt like a championship title was on the line – as both squads were refusing to concede a goal up until that minute.

At that minute is when Taylor Sentz, an Erie midfielder, headed the ball into FLCC's net. The helper secured a Kats victory – as Erie would go on to hold on while living another day in the postseason.

Overall, the Lakers outshot the Kats – 12-5 – on the afternoon. FLCC had a handful of great looks around the visitors' goal – but credit Erie's keeper – Rich Bund – with putting a stop to each of the Lakers shot attempts. Bund came up big in the road win for the Kats by tallying 12 saves.

FLCC's keeper Shane Bly also turned in a quality showing in the crease. The sophomore finished the game with 4 saves.

With the win, Erie improved to 11-5 on the season. The Kats will play next in round two of the 2012 regional playoffs as they will travel to the home of Genesee CC tomorrow where they will take on the #2 nationally ranked Cougars.

The Lakers, despite falling, finished the season with a ton of positives. Overall, FLCC went 9-10-3 (3-2-1 MSAC) in 2012. A full summary of the Lakers season will be available on the men's soccer home page later this week on flccathletics.com.