10/25/08 Stow vs Jackson (District Final) (L, 3-5)
Excellent season comes to a close
The season ended for Stow on Saturday night as the #8 ranked Jackson Polar Bears captured their second straight district title. The Bulldogs had knocked the Bears out of the playoffs the last two times they met. However, this night belonged to Jackson, as they are looking to get back to the state championship game again after losing in Columbus last season. Jackson scored in the first minute of play and built a 3-0 lead before the Bulldogs would answer. Matt Koczwara scored for Stow at the end of the half. He played an outstanding game and gave the Bulldogs a lift with his spirited play. The second half stated like the first. Jackson made it 4-1 in a hurry. The Bulldogs did not surrender without a fight. On three occasions this season they were down by two goals and came back to tie or win. Stow scored the next two goals. Aaron Quinn continued his playoff scoring streak and brought his postseason total to five goals when he made it 4-2. With less than eleven minutes to play Brett Dillinger made it 4-3 when his line drive shot found its way into the back of the net. Dillinger was another bright spot for the maroon and gold, along with freshman Luke Hunt and junior Hudson Kelly. Unfortunately, that is as close as the Dogs would get. Jackson found the net again less than two minutes later and ended any hopes of a Stow comeback. The Bulldogs end a spectacular season with a final record of 13-4-2. They have appeared in the district final four of the last five seasons. The Bulldogs are in great shape as they head into the 2009 campaign with a number of core players returning.
10/22/08 Stow vs Hudson (W, 4-2)
Bulldogs win the rematch
Two weeks ago The Hudson Explorers visited the Stow Bulldogs. Stow erased a two goal deficit with less than fifteen minutes to play to earn a 3-3 draw. The teams also tied for second place in the final league standings. On Wednesday evening Hudson came calling again. This time the Bulldogs took an early two goal lead. Kevin Dockrill put away a loose ball that came to him at the top of the box to make it 1-0. Kyle Quinn made sure it was 2-0 when he slam-dunked a ball that looked to be making its way to the net. He finished the mayhem that Aaron Salwan created. Salwan, who loves to suit up against Hudson, put together a brilliant individual effort to setup the second goal. He tracked down and stole the ball from a defender. Then he took on the next defender, got stuffed momentarily, and somehow got the ball back and played it perfectly toward the goal. He blistered his first shot off the post and it came right back to him. His second shot looked as if it went in and the goalkeeper cleared it back out before a goal was signaled. That's when Kyle ended any doubt about the situation. He was hustling to goal and took one for the team as he finished the play. The Explorers would answer with the next tally, making it 2-1. Stow's Aaron Quinn answered that with another goal for the home squad. He received a Steve Grater throw-in deep inside the box, turned it, and hammered home his third goal of the playoffs. The score was 3-1 at the break. Hudson came out attacking at the start of the second period and did not stop the entire half. For forty minutes the Bulldogs tried their best to slow down Hudson. Mike Hromco was a key factor in doing so. He made save after save, ran down services into the box, and held onto dangerous crosses to keep the Explorers at bay. They did cut the lead to one goal with seventeen minutes remaining. However, Aaron Qiunn remained on fire and delivered when the Dogs needed it most.. He put the game away with less than ten minutes to play. This time he placed a Brett Dillinger throw-in past the goalkeeper with an outside of the foot flick that found the upper corner of the goal. The final was 4-2, marking the second straight playoff game in which Stow scored four times. The Bulldogs will travel to Jackson on Saturday night to face the Polar Bears at 7:00 in the district final.
10/18/08 Stow vs Cuyahoga Falls (Sectional Final) (W, 4-1)
Aaron Quinn scores twice as the Bulldogs advance
The Bulldogs advanced to district play with a 4-1 win over Cuyahoga Falls and will host Hudson on Wednesday at 7:00. Aaron Quinn knocked in a goal off a Brett Dillinger throw-in near the end of the first half to give Stow a 1-0 lead at the intermission. Steve Grater placed a free-kick into the side netting to make it 2-0 just minutes into the second period. But it was Grater's defense on this evening that was needed the most. He did another spectacular job shutting down the Black Tigers biggest scoring threat. Aaron Quinn made it 3-0 when he buried another Dillinger throw-in that was flicked to him from his brother, Kyle. Travis Charboneau topped off the evening by making it 4-0 with just under fifteen minutes to play. The Bulldogs continue to do what they have always done in the past, maintain a balanced scoring attack. The Bulldogs average better than 2.5 goals a contest but do not have any players that have reached double digits in goals scored. Grater, Quinn, Quinn, Charboneau, and Aaron Salwan share the bulk of the goal scoring load, all having five or more this season.
10/11/08 Stow vs Lakewood (W, 1-0)
Kyle Quinn nets the game winner
Kyle Quinn took a cross from Mike Rogers out of the air and tucked it in the goal off the crossbar to give Stow a 1-0 win at Lakewood. Stow finished 3-1-1 in the top tier of the Northeast Ohio Conference. That mark was good enough to land them in a tie for second place with Hudson. Quinn's goal came in the first half. Hudson Kelly sent the ball into Rogers on the right flank. Rogers turned his man, broke free, and saw Kyle open in the middle of the box. He placed his pass perfectly and Quinn did the rest. The Bulldogs were shaky on the defensive end at the start of the second half. Steve Grater did a great job of slowing down the Ranger attack when he was moved into a defensive role to close the game. Mike Hromco earned his seventh shutout of the season. Stow will host the Akron North/Cuyahoga Falls winner on Saturday at 7:00.
The JV Dogs also won by a score of 1-0. Little Hromco got the shutout in goal. The JV squad finished the season with a record of 8-7-1.
