But in the second quarter the Shamrocks found an answer and more. They bombed the Flids 8-1 to take an 8-5 halftime lead by a dominance on ground balls, possession and aggression that had been wholly missing in the first quarter. At the end of three it was 11-7 in favor of the Shamrocks and all seemed lost for the Flids.

But then Feifs endeavored to put the Flids on his back and carry them into the Fall Ball finals with a furious assault that culminated in his eighth goal of the night with less than a minute left. That brought the Flids to within one goal, but an errant pass gave the ball to the Shamrocks and they milked the clock the rest of the way.

Rob McNaughton stepped bravely into the goal for the Flids, but the Shamrocks prevailed by one goal in a game that wasn't decided until the last second. After the Flids opened the first quarter with a 4-0 outburst, (with Feifs having two goals and one assist, the Shamrocks blew them out in the second quarter with their 8-1 run.

The third quarter was almost even with the Shamrocks tallying three times and Feifs twice to bring it to an 11-7 margin. Then the Flids tried to rally with Jay Whitaker scoring first and then Feifs.

After the Shamrocks' Rob Christenson and Feifs traded goals, the score stood at 12-10. But then Owen Ham fed Stephen Barksdale for the Shamrocks 13th goal and it looked like it was over.

However, when Feifs fed Colin Rossi it was again a two-goal deficit and Flid coach Erik Vanags called a timeout with one minute left. On the ensuing faceoff, Feifs sailed down and buried his eighth goal of the night to cut it to 13-12.

The Flids hustled back for another faceoff with the clock running. Feifs won the faceoff, raced down the field, but his pass to the attackman sailed just over his stick and the lights went out for the Flids.

In the night's early game, the Runnin' Rebels used balanced scoring (despite being without Kevin Raspet and Shawn Handy) and the goal-tending of Zach Brewer to defeat the Blue Crabs 9-5. The game was tied 2-2 at the end of one quarter, but a five-goal run by the Rebs made it 7-2 at the half.

The Crabs outscored the Rebs 3-2 in the final two quarters but could never make up the margin the Rebs eked out in the second period. After Riverside's PAC-6 tournament soccer victory over Chapel Hill on Tuesday, the Rebels will again be without the services of Kevin Raspet for Thursday's championship. They also will be missing Jonathan Reda for that game.

In the early game, the Flids managed a squeaker win with a three-goal final quarter to edge the improving Blue Crabs 8-7. The Crabs had the lead 6-5 at the end of three, but traded one goal for three in the final quarter to lose by one.

Scoring for the Flids were Chris Feifs with six, and Andy Ross and Will McNaughton with one each. Assisting for the Flids were Colin Rossi with two, and Feifs and McNaughton with one each. Scoring for the Crabs were Joe Howard, Graham Murray and William Lewis with two each, and Kellan McKeon with one. The Crabs had no assists in the game. Rich Ladd had 12 saves for the Flids and Adam Canoy had three for the Crabs.

In the night's late game, the Shamrocks managed a one-goal overtime win over the then-league leading Runnin' Rebels. The Shamrocks held a 5-4 lead after three quarters but the Rebs outscored them 3-2 in the final period to push the game into OT. The Shamrocks' Rob Christensen, who had four goals on the night, put in the game-winning goal in sudden death.

Scoring for the Shamrocks were Christensen with four, and Owen Ham and Graham Georges with two each. The Blue Crabs deserve and assist for providing two key players to the Shamrocks. Georges was borrowed from the Crabs to play attack, and Anthony Howard, a midfielder who had never played in goal, was borrowed to play in goal, managing four saves. Assisting for the Shamrocks was Stephen Barksdale with one.

Scoring for the Rebs were Shawn Handy with three, Kevin O'Connor with two, and Brian Jobe and Chris Wells with one each. Assisting for the Rebs were Handy, Wells and O'Connor with one each. Zach Brewer had 10 saves for the Rebs and novice goalkeeper Anthony Howard had four for the Shamrocks.

The last-place Crabs defeated the league-leading Runnin' Rebels 6-5. The teams were tied at the end of regulation, and in the overtime period Crab attackman Graham Georges lifted a Rebel defenseman's stick at the midline allowing an errant Rebel pass to get to the Crab offensive end. Georges then beat the defenseman to the ball and fed attackman Graham Murray for the winning goal.

Scoring for the Crabs were Graham Murray with four, and Anthony Howard and Joe Howard with one each. Assisting for the Crabs were Georges, Anthony Howard and Jon Koritz with one each. Scoring for the Rebels were Ben Clauson with three, and Kevin Raspet and Chris Wells with one each. Assisting for the Rebels were Wells and Kevin O'Connor with one each.

In goal, Richard Ladd had two saves for the Crabs, while Adam Canoy had six. For the Rebels, Zach Brewer had seven saves.

In the night's early game, the once-league-leading Shamrocks fell to the Flids 13-6 as their losing streak increased to four games. The two middle quarters doomed the Shamrocks, who were outscored 9-1 in the second and third periods. The Shamrocks were once 3-0 until a parity trade sent several key players to the Blue Crabs, including Graham Murray, the Crabs' leading scorer, and Shamrock attackman Madison Thompson went down with a season ending leg break.

Scoring for the Flids were Will McNaughton with four, Rob McNaughton with three, Chris Feifs with three, and Colin Rossi, Jay Whitaker and Joe Miller with one each. Assisting for the Flids were Feifs with three, Chris White with two, and Rob McNaughton and Chris Boyle with one each.

Scoring for the Shamrocks were Owen Ham with two, Stephen Barksdale with two, and Evan Shearer and Joey Pietrantoni with one each. Assisting for the Shamrocks were Rob Christensen with two and Ben Tucker with one.

In goal, Rich Ladd had two saves for the Flids and Mark Peck had four for the Shamrocks.

In the night's early game, the Shamrocks and the Blue Crabs played to a standstill during regulation, with the Crabs' Graham Murray putting the sudden-death goal into the net in the first overtime period. Murray had four goals on the night to lead the Crabs.

The game was knotted 3-3 at the half, and the two teams each scored three more in the second half. In the overtime, the Shamrocks dominated on possession but just couldn't put the ball on goal or past Crab goalie Adam Canoy, who had three of his 10 saves in the overtime period. Those misses came back to haunt them when Murray forced one into the net to end the contest.

Scoring for the Crabs were Murray with four, Anthony Howard with two and William Lewis with one. Assisting for the Crabs were Graham Georges and Joe Howard with one each. Scoring for the Shamrocks were John Hall with two, Jack Craig with two, Owen Ham with one and Stephen Barksdale with one. Assisting for the Shamrocks were Evan Shearer and Adam Bolt with one each. After the game, Tom Ryan of the New Jersey Pride, known for his distinctive dreadlocks, gave the assembled laxers shooting tips. The left-hander advised player not to forget the bottom hand when shooting, pointing out that quite a bit of extra power can be gained by pulling back on the bottom hand while pushing with the top.

In the late game, the Runnin' Rebels continued their hot streak after an initial loss this season to defeat the Flids 10-7. Despite five goals by Chris Feifs the Flids couldn't top the Rebs, even with two of the Rebs' leading scorers missing the game (Shawn Handy and Jonathan Reda).

Scoring for the Rebs were Kevin Raspet with three, Chris Wells with three, Kevin O'Connor with two, Ben McDonald with one and Brian Jobe with one. There were no assists for the Rebels. Scoring for the Flids were Feifs with five, Colin Rossi with one and Will McNaughton with one. Assisting for the Flids were Gabe Vilgalys with two and Raspet, Jobe and Wells with one each.

The Rebels' Coach Glenn Estacio also missed the game and was spelled by the Crabs' Pete Kitrinos, giving Kitrinos a 1.000 batting average on Thursday.

The Crabs started out shorthanded against the Flids, with only one long pole making it to the game by the start time. The lack of defensive personnel cost the Crabs as the Flids scored four times in the first half of the opening quarter, three coming from Will McNaughton.

From midway into the first period, however, the Crabs began executing better than they've done in any game, outscoring the Flids 6-3 for the rest of the game. On another positive note for the winless Crabs, they showed good teamwork with all of their goals being assisted. "Great teamwork, guys," said Coach Jim Kirkley after the game.

Scoring for the winning Flids were McNaughton with five, Chris Feifs with one and Chris White with one. Assisting for the Flids were Feifs and Chris Boyle with one each. Scoring for the Crabs were Graham Murray with two, Joe Howard with two, Anthony Howard with one and Graham Georges with one. Assisting for the Crabs were Georges with two and Murray, Joe Howard, Kellan McKeon and William Lewis with one each.

In the night's late game, the faltering Shamrocks, depleted by injury and early season trades, fell for the second game in a row. After losing attackman Graham Murray to a league realignment three games ago and losing attackman Madison Thompson last week to a broken leg, the Shamrocks are trying to adjust to a new lineup. The surging Runnin' Rebels, now 4-1, took advantage of the Shamrocks' transition period to win 10-5 on the strength of two strong middle quarters.

The Shamrocks pulled to an early 2-0 lead after one quarter on goals by Rob Christensen, but the Rebels came back with five in the second and three more in the third to make it 8-3 going into the final period. The Shamrocks matched the Rebels 2-2 in the final period, ending the game at 10-5.

Eight different players scored for the Rebels: Chris Wells with two, Jonathan Reda with two, and Ben Clauson, Shawn Handy, Kevin Raspet, Brian Jobe, Michael Simel and Kevin O'Connor with one each. Assisting for the Rebels were Handy with two, and Clauson, Raspet and Wells with one each.

Scoring for the Shamrocks were John Hall with two, Rob Christensen with two and Stephen Barksdale with one. Assisting for the Shamrocks were Christensen and Barksdale with one each.

The next games are the Shamrocks vs. the Blue Crabs at 6 :30 p.m. and the Flids vs. the Runnin' Rebels at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11.

The Flids-Shamrocks game was the night cap Thursday and it was a close contest until the Flids exploded for seven goals in the third quarter, five of them from Will McNaughton. It was close through two periods, with the Flids managing to keep a one-goal lead until late in the first half when they went ahead 6-4.

Midway into the third period Shamrock attackman Madison Thompson scored and was hit hard on the play, going down on the field in obvious pain. It was only later in the evening that it was learned that his ankle had been broken in three places and is lost for the fall ball season.

The two teams traded three goals apiece in the final period, but the damage had been done. Scoring for the Flids were McNaughton with six, Chris Fiefs with four, Rich Ladd with three, Colin Rossi with two and Chris Boyle with one. Ladd also had three assists for the Flids, McNaughton had two and Rossi had one.

Scoring for the Shamrocks were John Hall with three, Owen Ham with two, Madison Thompson with two, Rob Christsensen with one and Jack Craig with one.

In the night's early game, the Blue Crabs played their best game of the season but couldn't keep the Runnin' Rebels from finding the goal. On the other end of the field, the Crabs had numerous point-blank shots that were saved by Reb goalie Zach Brewer or hit the pipe.

The Rebs jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first quarter and expanded that to 7-2 by the half. In the second half, the Crabs managed three goals to the Runnin' Rebels' four, playing good defense and managing to possess the ball for the majority of the final periods.

Scoring for the Runnin' Rebels were Kevin Raspet with three, Ben Clauson with two, Elliot McDonald with two, Chris Wells with two and Ben McDonald and Shawn Handy with one each. Assisting for the Rebs were Handy with three and Wells with one.

For the Blue Crabs, Graham Murray led the scoring with two, Anthony Howard, Jon Koritz and Graham Georges each had one. Blake Gaulden and Adam Hoover each had one assist for the Blue Crabs.

Next up on Tuesday, Oct. 9, are the Blue Crabs vs. the Flids at 6:30 p.m. and the Shamrocks vs. the Runnin' Rebels at 8 p.m.

The Rebels were assisted by the first appearance in fall ball of Kevin Raspet, who posted three goals. Jonathan Reda also had three goals for the Rebs, Shawn Handy had two, and Ben Clauson and Michael Simel had one each. For the Flids, Rob McNaughton had three goals, Chris Feifs two and Joe Miller had one.

In the assist category, Handy had three for the Rebels and Kevin O'Connor had one. Assist for the Flids were Jay Whitaker with two, and Feifs, Boyle and Mike Ryan with one each.

The game was tied 1-1 after the first quarter, and the Rebels could manage only a one-goal lead by halftime, going to the break up 4-3. The Flids took the lead after three periods with a 3-1 goal edge in that period to lead 6-5 going into the final period.

A 5-0 goal differential by the Rebels in the final period, though, put the game away. Zach Brewer had four saves in goal for the Rebels while Richard Ladd had six and Rory Cullen had five in combined efforts in goal for the Flids.

In Tuesday's late game, the Blue Crabs, fortified with some trades from other teams, managed two tough middle periods against the unbeaten Shamrocks, holding their own with three goals to the Shamrocks' 4 in those two periods. But they were outscored 10-1 in the first and final quarters combined to end up on a 14-4 deficit after a couple of their players had to leave the game early.

Scoring for the Shamrocks were John Hall and Joseph Pietrantoni with three, Madison Thompson with two and Jack Craig, Timothy Daugird, Stephen Barksdale, Rob Christensen, Evan Shearer and Owen Ham each with one. In assists for the Shamrocks, Christensen and Ham each had three, and Hall, Pietrantoni, Shearer and Craig each had one.

Scoring for the Blue Crabs were Graham Murray, late of the Shamrocks, and Adam Hoover each with two. Murry also had an assist and Scott Koritz also added an assist.

Next up on Thursday: Runnin' Rebels vs. Blue Crabs in the early game and Flids vs. Shamrocks in the late game.

A 4-0 first quarter put the Shamrocks in control early on Thursday, and they led 6-2 at the half. A 3-2 scoring edge in the final two periods cinched the win for the Shamrocks. Scoring for the Shamrocks were John Hall with three goals, Evan Shearer with two, Graham Murray with two, and Owen Ham and Jack Craig with one each. Ham had two assists, as did Madison Thompson. Bryan Thompson and Craig each added an assist for the Shamrocks.

Scoring for the Rebels were Kevin O'Connor with two, and Ben Clauson and Chris Wells with one each. Clauson also added an assist.

The Flids opened with a 6-goal first quarter and a 4-goal second to lead 10-3 by halftime and go on to down the Blue Crabs 14-3. The Flids added four more in the third quarter to the Blue Crabs' none, and that's when the lights went out -- literally. The fourth quarter was not played due to faulty lighting.

Will McNaughton led the scoring for the Flids with six goals. Chris Feifs added three goals, Rob McNaughton and --- White each added 2, and Chris Boyle added one. Feifs also added four assists for the Flids.

Scoring for the Blue Crabs were Joe Howard with two and Graham Georges with one.

Next up on Tuesday, Oct. 2, will be the Flids vs. the Runnin' Rebels in the 6:30 p.m. game and the Shamrocks vs. the Blue Crabs in the 8 p.m. game.

In the 6:30 p.m. game Tuesday, the Shamrocks broke a 3-3 halftime tie to pull away to their 10-6 win. A devastating third quarter was the difference, with the Shamrocks outscroring the Flids 6-0 in that period. Leading scorer for the Shamrocks was Rob Christensen with 3, followed by John Hall and Owen Ham with two each, and one each by Graham Murray, Jack Craig and Stephen Barksdale.

Hall had two assists for the Shamrocks, while Christensen and Murray had one each. Goalie Mark Peck had five saves for the Shamrocks.

Leading scorers for the Flids were Chris Feifs with three, Will Naughton with two and Richard Ladd with one. John Hayes had an assist for the Flids. Goalie F. Canoy had four saves in goal for the Flids, with Ladd saving 10 while playing in goal.

In the 8 p.m. game, the Runnin' Rebels dominated the Blue Crabs, jumping to a 10-2 halftime lead and outscoring the Crabs 6-1 in the second half to win 15-3.

Top scorers for the Rebs were Jonathan Reda with 5, Shawn Handy with 3, Ben Clauson, Chris Wells and Michael Simel with two each, and one each by Alex Elkins and Patrick Schultz. For the Crabs, Joe Howard, Graham Georges and Kellan McKeon each had one. Handy and Clauson each had an assist for the Rebs and Georges had one for the Crabs.

Zach Brewer had six saves for the Rebs while Adam Canoy had eight saves for the Crabs.

In the early game on Thursday night, the undefeated Shamrocks will face the undefeated Runnin' Rebels, while the Flids and the Blue Crabs will face off in the 8 p.m. game.