One game short

On Tuesday, May 28, at Faller Field in Middletown,the Crusaders and the Tigers of Kingston battled for the Section 9 Class A title.
The Crusaders entered the game with a 11-3 record and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. The Tigers had a 9-5 record and were the second seed.
The Crusaders had defeated the Tigers earlier in the season 11-10.
The Tigers wasted little time as they scored the first four goals of the game.
It wasn’t until Tim Philbin scored with 58 seconds left in the first quarter that the Crusaders got on to the board.
In the second quarter, the defense tightened, with goalie Dean Pesce making several key saves to keep the Crusaders in the game.
Meanwhile, goals by Bennet Smith and Jack Dembia cut the Tiger lead to 5-3 at the half.
After the half the Tigers started off shorthanded but they killed off the penalty and then went on a four-goal rally and took control of the game.
Dembia scored again with 3:45 left in the third but the Tigers answered right back.
Philbin the scored with 22 seconds left in the third but the Tigers matched that tally with 3.2 seconds left in the quarter.
The Tigers scored two more times in the fourth as they went on to a 13-5 victory and the Section 9 Title.
- William Dimmit