RFA Lady Black Knights Varsity Lacrosse News

June 9, 2005 – The following Varsity players were honored and recognized with special awards at the players’ year-end picnic held at Lee Town Park: Outstanding Attack - Liz Cole, Outstanding Midfield - Sheena Stivers, Outstanding Defense - Letitia Mazzaferro, Coach's Awards - Aubrey Carletta & Angela Rizio, Scholar Athlete - Liz Cole, Most Improved Player - Hayley Cataldo, Principal's Award –

Amy Klockowski, Michael Uvanni Award – Shannon Chlebus, Gatorade - Will To Win Award –

Katie Gomez, Gatorade - Most Valuable Player – Chrissy Grogg, and the Gatorade - Rookie of the Year Award - Aubrey Carletta.

Congratulations to our N.Y.S.P.H.S.A.A. Scholar Athlete Team!!! Sixteen of our varsity players qualified

as scholar athletes, with a team average of over 92%. This year’s scholar athletes were: Shannon Chlebus, Liz Cole, Bridget Donnelly, Sarah Gifford, Katie Gomez, Karie Jones, Kandice Kendall, Amy Klockowski, Kelly Koons, Kate Lappin, Merrin Mandigo, Jill Pratt, Lindsay Rapke, Angela Rizio, Mikaila Waters and Katie Wojdyla. Nice work ladies, we’re all proud of you!

The senior night ceremony will be Tuesday, May 17^th, during half-time of the Corcoran varsity game

at the stadium. We are honored to have Carl Eilenberg (the voice of the S.U. Orange) as our guest announcer for the game and ceremony that evening.

Varsity Game Results

May 17, 2005 – Corcoran 18 – R.F.A. 4

The families and friends of RFA's seniors gathered tonight to celebrate our ten graduates. Amy Klockowski, Sheena Stivers, Christina Grogg, Letitia Mazzaferro, Katie Gomez, Shannon Chlebus, Kate Lappin, Kelly Koons, Lindsay Rapke, and Merrin Mandigo were all celebrated at a special ceremony during halftime, in which their younger teammates read tributes to them. For all RFA athletes, it was a bittersweet moment; one in which we finally acknowledged the close of our season and the close friends that would soon be leaving the team. However, the intensity on the field showed no signs of tears, as each and every player battled against their opponents, the Corcoran Cougars. Despite the unfortunate loss, smiles were found on every RFA face as they joined up to spend their final night as the 2005 RFA Varsity Lax team together. – L.C.

April 30, 2005 – Henninger 17 – R.F.A. 4 - Heavy rain and chilly temperatures couldn't keep the Lady Black Knights down, even in their defeat, as they battled opponent, Henninger. Rome used their settled defense in order to try and slow down the exceptionally fast Henninger players. By riding players out of the 8m, Rome's defense minimized the amount of shots placed on goalies Sam Vetrone and Merrin Mandigo. On the offense end, scoring was evened out, with one goal from Chrissy Grogg, Katie Gomez, Nicole Kimmel and Liz Cole. The scoreboard may have turned in Rome's opposition, but all Rome players gave outstanding effort, both on offense and defense. – L.C.

April 29, 2005 – RFA wins at home, in Sudden Death Overtime over visiting Oswego - R.F.A. 14 – Oswego 13

All fans of the Oswego-Rome game on April 29 were certainly on the edge of their seats as it went into two three-minute regulation overtimes, with an additional Sudden Death overtime round. From the very first whistle, Rome girls were playing aggressively. Winning draws was key, because with the settled offense, Rome had the best chance of scoring against the Lady Buccaneers of Oswego. Chrissy Grogg gave an outstanding offensive effort with 6 goals, alongside of Sheena Stivers, Shannon Chlebus, Katie Gomez and Nicole Kimmel. Defensive efforts by Letitia Mazzaferro, Amy Klockowski, and goalie, Sam Vetrone, shut down a lot of their potential goals. As the game wound down, with Oswego leading by one and attempting to set up a stall, Rome's defense double-teamed and won possession of the ball. With the lightning transition, the ball was passed up the field into the capable stick of Sheena Stivers, who scored and tied up the game with less than twenty seconds on the clock. Both teams scored during the regulation overtimes, but it was Katie Gomez's goal on a free possession shot that decided the game in Rome's favor, 14-13. Good job, Lady Black Knights!! – L.C.

Sheena Stivers scored our 12th goal to tie it with 9 seconds left in regulation. OT consists of two 3-minute periods. RFA scored in the first on a goal by Grogg. Oswego responded in the second OT period with a goal by Farden. When a game is still tied after 2 OT periods, it goes to sudden death. Katie Gomez won it for RFA 21 seconds into sudden death. Sam Vetrone had 20 saves in goal. – Coach Ringlund

April 25, 2005 – E.S.M. 17 – R.F.A. 8 - The girls varsity squad had its audience at the edge of its seat at the opening of tonight's game versus ESM. Coming off the bench with an intense, aggressive squad, they were capable of scoring 4 goals in less than ten minutes, with a combined offensive effort of Sheena Stivers, Chrissy Grogg, and Shannon Chlebus. Passes were short, and shots were quickly fired at the goalie. Amy Klockowski, Angela Rizio, and Jill Pratt headed the defensive effort, marking up tightly and temporarily shutting down their top scorer. Transition in the middle was beautiful, with crisp passes and helpful communication. Goalie Sam Vetrone made amazing save after save, and helped begin the transition to offense. Although the score turned in ESM's favor, RFA's girls were relentless, never giving up and winning the battles. Good job, girls! - L.C.

Special thanks to Varsity player Liz Cole for her willingness to write game information for Varsity’s Website page!