Second-Half Comeback Spurs Thrilling Victory!

In the first half against Buchholtz (9-4), the West Orange Warriors looked like a team that was still on spring break.  Literally.  The Bobcats dominated the good guys, out-hustling and out-playing the Warriors in every facet of the game.  By the time the halftime horn sounded, West Orange found themselves trailing 6-1.  Then the second half began.

Kouchalakos' goal helped lead WO to an amazing second-half comeback.

Just over a minute into the second half senior attackman Nick Poidomani created space for himself off a dodge, finishing with a twisting jump shot to beat the keeper.  It was a good start to the half, but the Warriors still had a long way to go.

Then, 90 seconds later, freshman defender Alex Kouchalakos picked-up a ground ball after the Warriors man-down defense caused a turnover.  Kouch raced the ball over the midfield line only to find his three attackmen teammates covered.  Instinctively, the long-pole drove to the goal, finishing in spectacular fashion.  With the lead now cut in half, and energy starting to build in the Warriors, the momentum was now shifting to WO's favor.

The Orange & Blue run continued less than a minute later when senior midfielder Logan Dyer drove to the goal off a dodge and finished with his shot in the back of the net.  Seventy seconds later, senior d-pole Trenton McGee cleared the ball over the midfield and sprinted into the restraining box, finding a wide-open Bailey Sarp who finished with a goal.

All told, the Warriors opened the second half with four goals in under five minutes.  But there was still work to be accomplished.

Sarp, a junior attackman, dodged to the goal with under four minutes left in the quarter to tie the ballgame at six-apiece.  The third-quarter run ended with sophomore midfielder Hunter Fromberg's goal, giving the Warriors the lead for the first time.  

The Bobcats scored their first goal of the second half three-minutes into the fourth quarter to tie the game.  However, less than sixty seconds later junior defenseman Matt Cohn launched a clearing pass to Sarp, who proceeded to finish with a goal, and ultimately give the Warriors the lead for good.  Poidomani would close out the scoring for WO with two transition goals supplied by senior middie Grant Malquist and McGee. 

By the time the final buzzer has sounded, the Warriors had completed one of the biggest comeback victories in the program's history.  WO outscored their opponent 9-2 in the second half.  However, it wasn't just the work of the offense that lead to the win.  The defense of McGee, Cohn, Kouchalakos and goalie Tyler Barreto had just as much of an impact by keeping the Bobcats from scoring and creating a number of transition goals.