Leopards, Lions Roll

In the penultimate games of the 2008 Summer League, the Leopards and Lions each won two games to advance to next week's semifinals and finals.

First, the Leopards dispatched SLAP 12-7. Steve Sigman provided the bulk of the offense, while a resurrected Marty Ruzicka teamed with Danny Faust and Jack Buelter to limit SLAP's formidable 2-meters. Grace Keesling earned Player of the Game honors for her two second-half goals.

The Lions then battled Daisy for more than four quarters. John Savio nearly secured the victory with his trademark backhand to put the Lions ahead one with under three minutes to play, but Daisy managed to tie the score and force a sudden victory period. After a dynamic game in the field, Patrick Maloney took a turn in goal and blocked a pool length shot, setting the stage for Matt Stipanovich's golden goal and an 11-10 win.

As the first place team from their bracket, the Leopards next swam against the Mad Dogs in the quarterfinals. An effective press defense again keyed the counterattack and allowed a number of easy goals. The 11-5 win included some offensive fireworks from Daniel Pike. Play of the Game was Travis Neuberger's blind tip of a vertical pass past the onrushing goalie, earning a burst of applause from the crowd.

Finally, the Lions faced a fresh Tigers squad, who fell to third in their bracket with two forfeit losses last week. The Tigers came out slowly, though, and trailed 5-0 after one quarter as well as at the half. Resurgent offense from Parker Finlinson and Kyle Schnoring and committed defense from Rob Golterman allowed the Tigers to come within three goals early in the fourth quarter, but Stipanovich helped the Lions pull away for an 11-6 win.

Next week, the Lions play in the first semifinal game at 5:55 PM, the Leopards play in the second at 6:45 PM, and the Tigers play in the fifth place game at 9:15 PM. The location of these games may change, as MICDS is scheduled to drain their pool this weekend.