Democrat Photo by Frank Rizzo LIBERTY'S MATT BURNS is too late to stop Kevin Erlwein of Sullivan West from getting off a shot in last Tuesday’s 2-1 win by the visiting Bulldogs in Liberty.

Corigliano Takes Over

By Frank Rizzo
LIBERTY — October 17, 2000 – Craig Corigliano, recovered at last from an ankle injury which knocked him out of several contests, came back to lead Sullivan West over host Liberty 2-1 in last Tuesday’s Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division III game.
Corigliano scored both goals on explosive shots after winning the ball deep in Liberty territory.
The host Indians started the game, played under sunny but brutally cold conditions, as if prepared to fill the Bulldog net.
Then the visitors took turns in the Indian defensive zone, turning the game into a sloppy but exuberant and attack-minded contest.
Yet for all this offensive production, the scoreboard remained blank.
Early in the second half, Liberty failed to clear a ball, and Corigliano pounced on it, blazed across the top of the penalty area, and beat Liberty keeper Mike Salvia with a hard ground-skimmer to the corner.
Minutes later, Liberty’s Omar Sharif sent a crossing pass in front of SW goalie Bruce Nober.
Adam Lake won a battle for the ball on the endline and crossed it in front of the net, where teammate Ricardo Cruz had merely to tap it in.
At the other end Corigliano close d out the scoring with another highlight-film type shot perfectly placed past a diving Salvia.
The final minutes saw Liberty go all out for the tie, with Cruz’s tricky dribbling keeping the Bulldog defenders busy and riled, but Nober managed to stop any shot on net.
“I think we dominated much of the game but couldn’t finish,” said first-year Liberty coach John Law. “They utilized their opportunities to score better. It was a well-played game, and we learned a lot from the loss. We’re both good team who’ve gotten bad breaks.”
SW won the first game 6-1 back on September 14.
“Our guys knew this game would not be as easy,” said SW coach Howie Whitmore. “We got some momentum the first time around. It was good to win.”