Late goals spur Air Academy/ Host Kadets advance in state playoffs

Two moments told the story of Air Academy's 9-7 boys lacrosse playoff win over Grandview Tuesday.

Kadet goalie Adam Taylor kneeling in the penalty box, punching himself in the head as Grandview took a second-quarter lead.

And Lee Vampola nearly hurdling teammate Brian Stone, as the two converged in a celebratory leap after Vampola's goal reclaimed the lead for Air Academy with one minute, 42 seconds to play.

"I saw the ball go in before I even knew it left my stick, it just felt right," Vampola said of his game-winning goal. "Under the pressure, I just got more pumped up, I felt the adrenaline."

Vampola and Stone combined to score four of the Kadets' five fourth-quarter goals, to help yank Air Academy back from the brink, after Grandview built a 7-4 advantage through three quarters. The second quarter was especially brutal as Grandview out-shot the Kadets 11-3, who had several tough penalties, including Taylor's, who was sent off for a push from behind.

But Taylor also made several great saves during that first half, or the game might have gotten away.

"Adam Taylor kept us in that game," Vampola said.

And Air Academy turned it around.

"Grandview played harder than we did in the first half, and we played harder than they did in the second half," Air Academy coach Scott Popelar said. "We weren't nervous, we knew if we could take care of our mistakes and play better offense we would win."

But down by three with 12 minutes left, something had to be done.

Stone got things started just over two minutes into the period, pouncing on a loose ball in front of the Grandview goal and flicking it into the net to make the score 7-5.

He made another shrewd play seconds later, out-jostling the Wolves goalie behind the net, then firing out front to Vampola. The senior attacker had a tough angle on an open goal, but he bounced it past two onrushing defenders.

Vampola returned the favor on Stone's game-tying goal, setting him up on top of the crease for a sidearm shot that skipped past the goalie with 4:14 remaining.

The game-winner was set up by senior Jason Harrison's steal on the defensive end, giving Vampola his opportunity, a shot he caught and threw with almost the same motion, from 20 yards out on the left side.

"They brought it hard, but we knew we could bring it back at them even harder," Harrison said.

Senior standout Jon Rydberg led all scorers with four goals for Air Academy, which will move on to a quarterfinal showdown against top-seeded Kent Denver.

Cherry Creek 11, Fountain Valley 0

At Cherry Creek: The host Bruins (1-5) pasted seven goals on Fountain Valley (6-5) in the first period and played tough defense to win the first-round state playoff game.

Nick Berry had three goals to lead Cherry Creek.

"We knew we faced a strong team," Fountain Valley coach Fred Koval said. "After the first period we settled down and played better. We had some chances."

Fountain Valley's David Ball stopped 10 shots, four of them were one-on-one blasts.

Mullen 17, Cheyenne Mountain 9

At Mullen: Sean Jendry scored five goals and dished out three assists as Mullen (10-6) dropped Cheyenne Mountain (6-9) in the first round of the state playoffs.

Cheyenne Mountain stayed close through the first two quarters and trailed 9-5. But Mullen scored five goals in the third to pull away. Cheyenne Mountain's Kurt Hanley scored three times and had three assists. Ryan Herbert has 12 saves.

Copyright 2003
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.