GRANBY - Twenty saves was not enough to keep the Granby boys soccer team from elimination Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Tournament.

No. 10 Lenox (8-8-4) scored midway through the second half to defeat the second-seeded Rams 1-0. They ended their season at 11-5-3.#

Goalkeeper Jason Labrie was phenomenal for Granby, making 19 saves on 21 shots, as the Rams struggled the whole game trying to generate offense.

"Jason did an excellent job reading when to come out, when to hold back, seeing their shooting lanes, and taking those away," said Granby coach Todd Dorman.

"The rest of the defense played a tremendous game to not give them rebounds, and clear the ball," he added.

Rams defender Zak Cloutier had the 20th save, as he prevented a goal by Millionaires forward Chris Considine early in the second half. Cloutier and Cody Lukasik played solid defensive games.

Lenox advanced to face the winner of tonight's game between No. 3 McCann Tech (11-5-2) and No. 11 Pioneer Regional (8-6-5) in the semifinals.

Lenox, coming off a 9-0 win at Ware in the first round, kept sustained pressure on Granby. The Millionaires controlled play in the first half, outshooting Granby 8-2 and taking six corner kicks to none for the Rams.

With about 20 minutes remaining in regulation, Considine received a pass from Carlos Vizcardo who led him up the left side. Considine's low shot beat Labrie inside the far post.

The goal was Considine's fourth of the playoffs after he scored three Sunday against the Indians.

Considine had six scoring opportunities in the second half, and only the strong defensive effort by Granby kept Lenox from adding to its lead.

"The amount of pressure Lenox put on us, we only had two guys up top to receive the ball," said Dorman. "Once there's support, by that time they didn't have an opportunity to turn or progress the ball forward.

"We needed more assistance from the midfield to control and distribute. They had us on our heels so much that our numbers were back, rather than pushing forward."

Senior Tim Gifford gave the Rams their best scoring chance of the first half, but his shot to the lower left side was stopped on a diving save by Lenox keeper Andrew Bravo (five saves).

He was assisted by a nearly impenetrable defense led by Byron Siegars and Sean O'Brien.

The Rams took just one corner kick in the entire game, after their best chance of the second half to tie the score.

Mack Ransford received the pass from Alan Ash and seemed to be in the clear, but Bravo came out to deflect his shot. Ransford was the most active Rams' forward on the right side, but he could not get many clear chances.

It was the final game for Granby seniors Gifford and Carl Danoff.

Dorman said he has high expectations for 2010.

"We're returning 14, so it's a big group and most of them will be going into their third or fourth year on varsity," he said. "So we'll have a tremendous amount of experience next year."

Dorman said the key to next season will be his players recognizing "the importance of their first touches, and playing possession passes on the ground. That will take a lot of pressure off the defense, moving it forward quickly but under control."