Lancaster Lacrosse Flexes Offensive Muscle in Win

The Legends kicked off the fourth week of boys lacrosse action scoring their season high goals total in an 18-6 win at Williamsville South on Monday night.

After a tough Week Three slate of games, Lancaster and head coach Dan Vogl were looking to start the new week on the right foot with a team win and to show signs of improvement in all phases of the game.

“We were able to help build our confidence here, but not take them [Williamsville South] lightly…they’ve got one heck of a goalie who did a nice job,” said Vogl after the win. “We’ve got to keep getting better each day. We’re not firing on all cylinders just yet.”

With the midway point of the season just around the corner, Lancaster has played seven games, all on the road. In Week Three the Legends fell to strong Orchard Park and Rush-Henrietta (V) squads and gutted out a close win over West Seneca West. Saturday’s game at home against Pittsford (V) will be the team’s ninth game of the season, and the first one at home.

Seven different players scored for Lancaster against the Billies. Alex Reimer led all scorers with six goals, five of which came in the first half. Trevor Stevens and Shawn Davis each recorded three-goal hat tricks while Zach Friol and Chris Shaver each netted a pair of goals. Andrew Reimer and Max Molino recorded one goal each for Lancaster who jumped back over .500 to 4-3 overall. Dylan Lanning starred in net for the Legends.

Alex Reimer scored two of his six goals in the opening quarter of the game, which ended with the Legends leading only 3-1. The second quarter was an offensive explosion for Lancaster, as four different players contributed six goals. Four South players scored a goal apiece in the period as well and the half ended with a Lancaster lead, 9-5.

Stevens scored the first two goals of the second half to increase the Legends lead. Three more scores from Lancaster and only one for Williamsville closed the quarter at 14-6.

While the previous two quarters loaded up the stat sheet, the first four minutes of the final quarter went completely scoreless by both sides. Physical play and penalties committed by both clubs kept the ball out of each net until Shawn Davis scored his second goal of the game. Zach Friol scored twice, and Davis capped the night’s scoring with his third goal of the game.

The Lancaster defense stepped up in a big way in the second half as well, allowing only one Williamsville South score.

“I want the ball in their hands,” said Vogl on his top scorers. “The last five or six games it seems like we’re still a little timid, so we need to get that confidence back. Sometimes we get a little hesitant, but tonight looked like we finally opened up, shooting a lot more. They can shoot, we’ve just got to put it in.”

While this game was a good reset for the Legends as they get into the second half of their schedule, Vogl knows where his team stands and what needs to be done if Lancaster is to repeat as Section VI Class A champions.

“We’ve got to keep building momentum and get our offense rolling. Or defense is keeping us in games, and Dylan Lanning is making some great saves, but we’re not where I want to be still. We’ve got a lot of work to do and I’ve got faith and trust in these guys to repeat again but not right now. We’ve got to keep getting better. Come playoffs, we’re going to be a whole different Lancaster team.”

Lancaster meets the City Honors/Buffalo Public Schools combined team at Riverside High on Tuesday and hosts Pittsford on Saturday.

The young Williamsville South squad was led by Matt Buchnowski and Ben Carey who scored two goals each. Max Evans and Luke Vredenburg each recorded one score for South who fell to 4-3 overall this season. Goaltender Mitchell Kiebala had a busy night in net, facing thirty-three shots and stopping fifteen of them.

Next up for the Billies is a Wednesday road meeting with the current Class C leader East Aurora Blue Devils.