By John D'Onofrio<br><a href="mailto:john.donofrio@lockportjournal.com">E-mail John</a>
HAMBURG — For about 12 minutes and 20 seconds — to be exact — the Lockport boys soccer Lions had hit their High Water Mark.
They were peaking at Hamburg’s Howe Field under the lights on a drizzly Wednesday night, shocking No. 2 Williamsville North with the opening goal in their AA semifinal contest.
It was a textbook tally by the Lions and their outstanding goal scorer senior Matt McCoy, who trapped a cross from the right side 8:13 into the first half, then drilled a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner to give the underdog Lions a 1-0 lead.
And for the next 12:20, the Lions never looked better and were out-playing their highly-touted foes.
But like all great teams do, the Williamsville North Spartans simply turned things up a notch and rallied to beat Lockport, 3-1, advancing to Saturday’s 7 p.m. Class AA title game against No. 1 Clarence (14-3-1) at Amherst High School.
“I was a little worried, but calm, because I know that we have the depth to bounce back like we eventually did,” said Spartans head coach Lee Ferenc.
Juniors Jonathan Cordero, Jason Harris and Matthew Nesper erased a 1-0 Lions first half lead that looked so promising at the onset as Will North improved to 15-3 overall. Top-seeded Clarence won Wednesday’s other semifinal, 1-0, over No. 5 Orchard Park.
Seeded third in the Section VI Class AA playoffs and ranked among the top 10 teams in Western New York consistently throughout 2009, Lockport finished a disappointing second in the Niagara Frontier League and felt collectively that they had fallen short of some important goals.
But rather than lament on what could have been, the Lions saved their best for last and charged into and through the sectional playoffs like a team out to prove something.
Lockport dominated the action for most of Wednesday’s contest, but couldn’t find the net for the most part as several shots came up just short, bouncing off the posts, while Spartans keeper sophomore Lucas Service got his team out of several close calls with big saves.
Cordero tied the game with 19:27 left in the first half with a blast to the lower left corner, beating Lions senior keeper Chris Paradise. Less than two minutes later, Harris converted from up close and Will North had a 2-1 lead at the half.
Ten minutes into the second half and Nesper booted in a rebound to round out the scoring as the Lions (14-5-1) never really find their groove again.
Lockport freshman Alex Reid and Service collided with 13:48 left in the game. Service suffered a minor leg injury and was replaced by junor J.J. Kuhn, who also played a strong game.
The Spartans and Red Devils have faced each other twice this season, splitting their games. Clarence won, 2-0, while Will North won the second meeting, 3-1.
“We just didn’t finish our chances,” said Lions head coach Jeff Hulshoff.
McCoy’s tally was the 77th and final goal of his varsity career. He finishes his Lions career as the second most prolific goals scorer in school history.
