Grand Island Tops Niagara Wheatfield 5-2

Niagara Wheatfield (0-1 league, 0-2-1 overall)and Grand Island (1-0 league, 3-0 overall) have alternated winning the league title for the past 4 years.  The Vikings were able to come out on top in this NFL matchup by a score of 5-2.  Niagara Wheatfield won the possession battle early but were unable to create many good scoring chances.  The tide began to turn and Sean Pufpaff was able to put one past All WNY large school Keeper Tim Calkins on an assist from Garrett Robinson in the 23rd minute.  Jake Gleave jumped up from his spot at central defender to solve Calkins again off of a corner kick from Lou Fabiano. Fabiano was able to put the vikings up 3-0 with a nice shot from just outside the 18 yard box off of a nice helper from Justin Kozlowski.

Just when it seemed like it was over for the Falcons, Rosario Strangio took advantage of some defensive miscommunication to bring his team back to life.  Lou Fabiano was able to answer less than three minutes later finishing a pass from Sean Pufpaff.  The Vikings were able to increase the lead to 4 when  Justin Kozlowski slotted a ball into the low corner off of a John Griffin pass.

Niagara Wheatfield refused to give up even as the clock was winding down and were awarded a penalty kick on a James Franz handball in the box.  Lucas Robinson was up to the initial task stopping Joe Gioannini’s initial shot, but Gioannini refused to be denied, putting in his own rebound.  The handball by Franz resulted in a red card forcing Grand Island to play a man down for the remaining 8 minutes of the game.

The Vikings defense was up to the task and the game ended with a score of 5-2. The Vikings will look to improve on their league record next Wednesday against the Charter School for Applied Technologies.  Niagara Wheatfield will try to bounce back in a league matchup against North Tonawanda this Saturday.