CLARENCE —Sometimes it just is what it is, and there is no other way to explain a loss.
Goals from Alexandra Rohloff and Nicole Lauricella stuck a dagger in the hearts of the Blue Devils as the No. 2 seeded Clarence Red Devils topped No. 3 Kenmore West 2-0 in their Section VI Class AA soccer semifinal Tuesday afternoon.
The loss effectively ended the Blue Devils season in the same spot it did last year.
Though the season closed out before anyone was ready to turn in their jersey, the Blue Devils can still walk away with pride.
After losing six key seniors to graduation, many observers thought that the defending Niagara Frontier League champions would be lucky to finish with a .500 record.
Defying the critics, the Blue Devils fashioned an impressive 13-3 overall mark and battled right down to the wire for the NFL title. “You always hear those whispers, ‘They’re not going to make it. They’re not going to do well,’” said West coach Jen Gilham. “And the girls conquered that. They pushed hard — since July they’ve been pushing. So for it to come to an end so quickly, it stings.”
Armed with an extensive scouting report, the Blue Devils had a solid game plan in place right down to a shooting list if the game came down to penalty kicks. But as the saying goes, sometimes things just don’t go as planned.
Rohloff got Clarence on the board with 15:09 left in the first half and Lauricella iced it 12 minutes into the second half when she went top corner. Ironically, Lauricella missed a golden opportunity just three minutes earlier when she broke in on Ken West goalkeeper Kirsty Webb, but sent her shot over the crossbar as Webb appeared to get enough of the ball to push it out of harms way.
West, which was playing in its third consecutive AA semifinal, created plenty of chances but Red Devils keeper Ashley Harof made the saves she had to make.
Harof also benefited from teammate Jamie Marfurt’s well-timed header that prevented a sure Blue Devils goal off a corner kick with 5:47 left in the game.
West got strong play in the midfield from Jenna Panepinto, who teamed with sister Lexi (forward) to create constant pressure on the Red Devils. Sophomore Sarah Albers also played strong for Ken West.
“Even after two (goals down) we just kept trying,” said Jenna Panepinto. “We didn’t stop playing.”
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