Late Goals Lift the Quakers to a Playoff Win at Fox Lane
For a good portion of last Friday afternoon’s first-round playoff game between Fox Lane and Horace Greeley, it seemed just a matter of time before the Quakers suffered the same agonizing fate that had awaited them in their two regular-season encounters against the Foxes.
But Quaker senior Alex Scott never stopped believing, never thought that a three-goal halftime deficit would be too much to overcome, never was ready to let his varsity career come to an end.
So when he scored back-to-back goals late in the fourth quarter to tie the Section 1, Class B opening-round game at Fox Lane’s Memorial Stadium, he could sense that this game would have a different ending than the previous ones did.
“After I tied the game, obviously anything could happen,” Scott would say later. “But the ball was rolling our way and at that point I knew that my teammates would come through.”
Exactly two minutes after Scott’s third goal of the day had erased what was left of Fox Lane’s virtually game-long lead, teammate Mike Mendelson worked his way into position to deliver the biggest goal of the Quakers’ season, firing a shot into the back of the net with just 19 seconds remaining to lift Greeley to an improbable 7-6 victory and a berth in the quarterfinal round against top-seed Yorktown.
“It wasn’t a surprise,” said Scott of the decisive goal by Mendelson. “I can tell you I was not surprised. I knew he would come through. Mike Mendelson is a great player.”
Mendelson had not scored in either of the games against Fox Lane during the regular season, both of which were won by the slimmest of margins by the Foxes, including an 8-7 decision earlier in the week. But he tallied twice in the fourth quarter, sandwiching Scott’s two goals, as the Quakers managed to overcome a 4-1 halftime deficit and end the season of their local rival.
“I can’t give enough credit to the guys,” said Greeley coach Vin DeGregorio. “They believed in themselves. They (the Foxes) went up 6-4 and many teams would fold. But these guys, they dug their heels in and they played small ball, they picked up the ground balls and they possessed the ball well and I give them all the credit in the world for fighting consistently for 48 minutes against a good Fox Lane team.”
Scott had staked the Quakers to an early 1-0 lead when he scored just a minute and a half after the opening faceoff, but Greeley was then kept off the board until midway through the third quarter. By then, the Foxes had countered with four goals of their own and appeared on their way to completing a 2012 sweep of the Quakers.
Goals by Will Quaranta, who finished with three on the spectacular spring afternoon, and Adam Markhoff enabled the Foxes to take a 2-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. Five minutes into the second period, with the Foxes a man up, Max Stern turned and fired a shot from the right past Greeley goalie Doug Gusick. Quaranta provided his second goal with 3:28 to go before halftime and the Foxes’ advantage suddenly increased to three goals.
Facing an uphill struggle, Scott and his Quaker teammates set their sights on a second-half revival. “We know we didn’t come through,” he said of the first two quarters. “But we’re certainly not afraid. We have confidence in each other and we know that if we kept pushing, kept pushing, the ball was gonna roll our way. Fox Lane’s a great team, but we felt like we had worked for it and really deserved it.”
Neither team could score over the first six minutes of the third quarter, but then Greeley struck twice in the blink of an eye and it became obvious another frantic finish was in the offing. Jack Gladstone’s goal with 5:54 left in the third period was followed by Cory Ekstom’s just 12 seconds later and the fourth quarter began with Fox Lane clinging to a 4-3 lead, but having a man-up advantage.
Quaranta quickly gave the Foxes an insurance goal, scoring after coming around the back of the cage 40 seconds into the final period. Mendelson’s first goal came three and a half minutes later after he turned a couple of times and sent the ball past Phil Grecco, who did wind up with 16 saves in the losing effort. But nearly two minutes later, the Foxes gained possession as Christian Magnan scooped up a loose ball near midfield and soon after Simon Abranowicz scored to restore the two-goal Fox Lane lead.
The Quakers were quickly running out of time, but Scott responded by coming around the side of the net and depositing the ball in the goal to get Greeley within 6-5 with 5:01 to play. Almost three minutes later, Scott took the identical route to the goal and got the same result, tying the game with 2:19 left on the clock and setting the stage for Mendelson’s late heroics.
His go-ahead goal with 19 seconds to go sent his teammates into a frenzy and left Fox Lane with precious little time to answer. The Foxes did win the ensuing faceoff and called a timeout with 12 seconds to go, but Jeff Lucas’ straight-on shot in the waning seconds was hindered from behind by Mendelson. Soon the horn was sounding and the giddy Quakers were piling on each other while the stunned Foxes walked forlornly off the field.
“Sectionals always bring a different vibe and we take Fox Lane serious every time we play ’em,” said DeGregorio. “We were just fortunate that we were in the situation that we were at the end of the game. Once we settled down and got the jitters out, I felt pretty confident with us on the offensive end and it was just a matter of time.”
Up next for the Quakers is the unenviable task of facing the Yorktown dynasty. Scott, for one, is ready for the challenge. “The Fox Lane win’s great,” he said. “But we’re not satisfied. We’re looking to get on a run. This is just the start of something, hopefully.”
Andy is a sports editor at Examiner Media, covering seven high schools in the mid-Westchester region with a notebook and camera. He began there in the fall of 2007 following 15 years as a candid photographer for the largest school picture company in the tri-state area.
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