Top-ranked Rams shut out Mustangs

Todd Byard, Ben Hulkhower and Brian Fitzmaurice all had two goals for the Rams.

"The first half we played afraid," Coach Dolphus Brown said. "We did not play physical. The second half we played so much better. We stepped up and played with a lot more courage."

The Mustangs played without starters Stephen Brown (pulled groin), Eric McManus (broken wrist) and David White (illness). "We learned real quick why they're the number one team in the state," Brown said.

Byard scored the first goal just 1:02 into the contest with an assist from J.T. LaBruyere.

"We kicked off, but it was a mis-kick," the coach said. "They collected the ball, and we just didn't mark him in the box. He turned and ripped it from 12 or 13 yards out."

He added, "Probably four or five of their goals were just like that where we did not mark tight."

A similar goal came at the 7:04 mark with LaBruyere scoring off an assist from Matt Morrison.

Byard's second goal, with an assist from LaBruyere, came at the 20:36 mark making it 3-0.

The margin reached 4-0 at the 24:45 mark as Hulkhower scored with an assist from Adam Schwartz.

The Rams led 5-0 at halftime after Caleb Alexander scored with 33 seconds left.

"The guy dribbled right past our defender into the box," the coach said. "That was a very frustrating goal. It looked like fear." Fitzmaurice gave Roberson a 6-0 lead at the 55:49 mark with an assist from Joey Polansky.

Hulkhower made it 7-0 at the 62:50 mark. SM goalie Caleb Corwin made a save but was injured when he hit his head on the post. Brown said Corwin managed to make another save but was unable to collect the ball. With Corwin down, Hulkhower had a clear shot into the net.

Fitzmaurice completed the scoring with an assist from Bridger Steele at the 65:15 mark.

The Rams got off 32 shots while holding the Mustangs to five. Corwin finished with 12 saves. Roberson's Matt Novchich made four saves, and Phillip Holcombe had one.

The Rams won the JV game 5-1. Bryan Mand scored SM's goal with an assist from Bryan Newbold.

"We had some good moments and played with a lot of heart, but didn't anticipate their runs well and reacted too slowly," Coach Allen Painter said.

Back to Sports: 09/26/02.