Cyclones Lax Loses to Baldwin, 9-7

Just like in its previous game against Carey, South Side came out flat Thursday morning against cross-town rival Baldwin, falling behind again after the first quarter. But unlike in the Carey game, the Cyclones could not muster any fourth-quarter heroics and fell to the Bruins, 9-7.

Like in many of its games this season, South Side started slow and allowed its opponent to build a big lead. The Bruins Tyler Harper scored in the first 30 seconds of the game. South Side answered four minutes later, but Baldwin scored twice in the final 15 seconds of the quarter to give them a 3-1 lead. The two-goal deficit was the closest the Cyclones would get.

An irate Steve DiPietro, South Side's coach head coach, said he was frustrated that his team continues to struggle in the same aspects of the game, even as the season nears its conclusion.

“It’s the same stuff as it is every game,” he said. “We’re not coming out with any intensity or sense of urgency, and it’s difficult to go out and win if you start behind by so many.  We won’t win until we do better early and stop giving the other team the ball so often.”

Turnovers plagued the Cyclones again, as several fast breaks were spoiled by poor passes that Baldwin defenders intercepted, and South Side struggled with groundballs and face-offs the entire game. The Bruins won 15 of 26 groundballs and capitalized on face-offs, winning 14 of 19.

Baldwin coach Rich Gargoyle said he thought that it was simply a matter of desire, and his team came out on top because of the extra effort.

“I think we just wanted the loose balls more today,” he said. “We preached that it’s all about how much you want it and how hard you go after it, and today they showed that they wanted it.”

South Side struggled to contain a potent Baldwin attack that was led by the explosive Harper, who finished with four goals.  Senior Alozo Holcombe added a hat trick of his own, and Klye Rebman had two shots in transition that slipped by Moriarty, who finished with six saves.

“Harper is explosive, and he’s probably the best middie in the county – he can do it all,” Garguilo said. “Our goals at the end of the first were big, it gave us some momentum, and I think it sunk them a little bit. If they weren’t feeling bad enough, that just added to it.”

South Side could not get much going offensively against goalie Brett Dadiego, who had 20 saves. Bryan Gerrato scored three goals in the closing three minutes to close the gap, and Patrick Finnerty also scored two goals and had an assist, but by the time the offense got rolling, the game was already out of reach.

South Side will look to get back in the win column next Friday against Division at home at 4:30 p.m.