By PAUL GOTHAM
WEBSTER, N.Y. — Mike Domm knew well his team’s limitations entering Wednesday’s Section V Class C1 semifinal. Facing top-seeded Williamson, a league rival which had beaten East Rochester twice during the regular season, Domm understood his squad needed to adjust its game plan.
ER’s Bombers followed the script perfectly.
“We had two days to get ready for this,” Domm said after East Rochester’s 1-0 win. “We knew we could not run with Williamson. They got too many guns. They’re too offensive. They average 4.6 goals per game. They average about 20 shots.”
For 80 minutes, the Bombers kept 10 men between the ball and goal. The result? They handed Williamson its first loss of the season and clinched a spot in the Section V Class C1 finals.
“I said ‘if we all buy into what I’m going to teach you in the next two days and we really buy into it, play for your brother next to you and you stick with the game plan, we will find a goal,” stated Domm echoing his message from earlier in the week. “We score about 2.5. We’ll find a way. No matter if you go down a goal, stick with it, believe in it. They did.”
The goal came less than three minutes into the match when Domm’s sons, Chuck and Russ combined to give ER all the offense it needed on this night.
Chuck Domm delivered a corner kick from the left flag. Russ Domm turned his body into a human torpedo and sliced through a tangle of players to find the back of the net with a header.
“I couldn’t believe it,” the elder Domm said when asked about the timing of the goal. “We are great on set pieces. I knew we were going to score on a set piece.”
3’ Chuck Domm to Russ Domm and @ERBombers take an early 1-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/aaZD8SamKI
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 24, 2018
From there the Bombers suffocated the high-powered Williamson offense forcing the Marauders to try and find open space in the final 18 yards of the field.
Williamson, undefeated and ranked second in the state, scored 78 goals in their previous 17 games. In two prior meetings during the regular season, the Marauders silenced ER twice by identical scores of 3-0.
Wednesday night, the statistic that mattered most was the 17 saves ER goalie Mike Raschiatore made.
45’ Michael Raschiatore denies Justin Eaton’s volley. @ERBombers still leads 1-0 pic.twitter.com/MPhDZas9OL
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 25, 2018
“Fantastic. Phenomenal,” Mike Domm said of his junior goalkeeper. “His composure, his hands. He doesn’t get rattled. He saved us probably five times today. We knew that going in. I told him before the game ‘For us to win this game, you’re going to have to be on the top of your game for us. You’re going to have to win it for us.’ And he did. It was awesome.”
Williamson fell to 16-1-1 with the loss.
☝️ of Michael Raschiatore’s 17 saves to lead.@ERBombers past top-seeded Williamson, 1-0. ER will play Sodus in the C1 final. pic.twitter.com/T5hYzBu7kn
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 25, 2018
East Rochester (13-6-0) will play another league rival, Sodus, in the championship. The two teams split their season series with ER winning 2-0 on September 10th. Sodus returned later in the season with a 3-o victory.
A 5 PM kickoff is scheduled Saturday at Avon Central Schools.
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