Reds hold off Raiders for NCAA crown
Tyler Paddy is a glutton for punishment.
The 17-year-old, Grade 12 student is not only an accomplished box goalie, but he also tends net for the Denis Morris Reds field lacrosse squad.
Paddy turned in an outstanding performance between the pipes Thursday to lead the Reds past the Holy Cross Raiders 4-3 in the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association championship final at Kiwanis Field.
Paddy, who began the box season at the junior B level with the Spartans and recently signed on to back up Nick Damude with the junior A Athletics, loves both versions of the game.
“I’d have to say box (is my favourite) because of the roll I’m on, but it’s really close. Field is a close second for sure.”
Paddy feels field is much more of a challenge for a netminder.
“It’s tough. It’s a lot more running and you have to be a lot more agile when it comes to field lacrosse,” he said. “In box, it’s a lot more tight space. Here, you have to run and keep your stamina up more.”
Paddy played both box and field growing up and only switched to goal in bantam.
“We had a girl (in goal) and it just got to the point where the shots were too hard. I was the biggest kid so they threw me in there and I ended up just loving it,” he smiled.
Having said that, he realizes the margin for winning and losing often falls directly on the man between the pipes.
“It’s really tough, to be honest. You let one bad goal in and everyone gets down but today wasn’t too bad.”
DM head coach Matt Vinc, who knows a thing of two about goaltending, loves what Paddy brings to the Reds.
“He’s got great hands and a great lacrosse IQ,” said Vinc, who tends net for the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League. “It’s great because he can be like a second coach out there for the defence. From a coaching perspective, he loves to have a little more freedom and we can structure the play in order to suit his game.”
The Reds raced out to a 4-1 lead, then hung on as the Raiders closed the gap with a late goal in the third quarter and another in the fourth.
“We didn’t want to sit back. We just kind of ran out of gas a little bit and we’ve had tight games with them in the past,” Vinc said. “We were fortunate we had a great start. We want to play a little bit better down the stretch and get some chances.
“We did a bad job of ball management but I’m happy with the way we played because that’s a talented group.”
Holy Cross coach Dave Walker had no qualms with the outcome.
“It’s very close. Honestly, I think if we don’t drop four or five balls in the crease it’s a different story, but that’s lacrosse. You have to score.”
Both teams move on — the Reds play for the Zone 4 AAA title next week while the Raiders take on St. Francis for the Zone 4 AA championship Tuesday — but Walker said that didn’t factor into the game.
“Regardless of what the championship is for — this leads to nothing to move on — it doesn’t matter. You play hard and play to win,” he said.
STATS PACK
Reds 4 Raiders 3
Mick and Angelo’s/Johnny Rocco’s player of the Game: Denis Morris goaltender Austin Paddy with several strong saves.
Denis Morris Reds: Cole Yungblut 2; Liam Haine, Ethan Fisher.
Holy Cross Raiders: Aiden O’Gorman 2; Hunter Ostromecki.
Up next: The Reds will play for the Zone 4 AAA title next week. The Raiders will play the St. Francis Phoenix for the Zone 4 AA championship Tuesday, May 14.
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