Games of the year #7- Syracuse vs Cornell

Now as we get into our top seven, we have a lot of college games here. We start off with a nail biter between Syracuse and Cornell. This game comes down to the final second, as the #2 team in the nation holds on....

This game ended wild, but started off like any other game, when Syracuse's Max Bartig scored on the first shot of the game with 10:27 left in the first quarter. Most of the period were long possessions by each team, with niether really able to get much done. Finally a tally was put up for Cornell with Ryan Hurley's goal at 4:36
left going into the second.
Senior Chris Daniello scored to lead of the second for Syracuse, but the Big Red of Cornell were able to bounce back with goals from Roy Lang and David Lau. The rest of the period carryed on like the first, with both goalies having good games to that point. The quarter ended the same, and Syracuse faced their third halftime deficit of the season.
The tempo of the game finally got going in the third, but with not many goals still. Cody Jaimeson was able to get two back for Syracuse, including an impressive rebound goal off Tim Desko with 3:41 in the quarter.
Cornell was able to bury two goals, however, to make the game 6-4 in the favor of the Big Red with 10:55 left in the game. Cornell and Syracuse were able to exchange goals later in the period, but then Syracuse tied it late with goals from Tim Desko and Jovan Miller.
As the clock ticked down to 30 seconds, John Lade forced a turnover for Syracuse to get the final possession of the game. Surprisingly, head coach John Desko did not call a timeout as his team raced to the box to get off the final shot. Jaimeson got the ball with seconds ticking off, and fired to be saved by goaltender AJ Fiore. But Chris Daniello was able to pick up the rebound and score with 0:01 left on the clock.
Game Notes:
Syracuse had come back down three goals late, simaler to their championship in 2008 over Cornell. Junior goaltender John Galloway of Syracuse was a career 40-5 after that game. Syracuse outshot Cornell 40-20. Jaimeson and Daniello were the only multi-point scorers for Syracuse. Syracuse extended it's winning streak to seven games.

Media Coverage:
Inside Lacrosse

Games of the Year #8- Washington vs Edmonton

In what was one of the matchups of the year in the NLL, the Washington Stealth faced off vs the Edmonton Rush in a game to determine the best of the west. Washington was coming off a first round blowout of Minnesota, and Edmonton a win over Calgary. Edmonton and Washington had fought all season for the #1 spot in the west, and while Washington ended up there Edmonton fell to third. But positioning did not matter in this game, as they were two of the best in the NLL, facing off for a berth in the Champions Cup.
Washington started the game off on a high note, with Paul Rabil scoring 3:39 into the game, followed by goals from Jeff Zywicki and two from Luke Wiles. Washington was able to hold a 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Cam Sedgewick and Rabil scored quickly into the second quarter, giving them a strong 6-1 advantage over the Rush. But Edmonton would not go away, scoring three unanswered goals in the second to cut the lead for Washington with 1:46 left. Rhys Duch of Washington was able to give the Stealth a bit more breathing room with his late period goal.
The Rush were motivated going into the third, scoring two straight goals to open the new half. But once again the Stealth had an answer, with Zywicki opening up the score to 8-6. Duch scored again seconds later, to make the score 9-6 going into the pivotal fourth quarter.
The Rush had beaten the Stealth twice in their three matchups this season, their two wins one goal wins. The Stealth knew the Rush had the ability to come back late in games. The Rush and Stealth traded goals to start the period, with Luke Wiles scoring his third of the night. Brodie Merrill was able to make the score 11-9 with 3:39 left in the quarter. The Rush pulled their goaltender Matt Disher for the final two minutes, and 55 seconds in Corey Small scored to make the score 11-10. With 20 seconds left Andy Secore tied the score at 11, and the final buzzer sounded with a tie. “I thought we were a little unlucky in the last four minutes,” said Stealth Head Coach Chris Hall. “We talked at halftime about it getting scrappy and intense down the stretch. We managed to stay poised and battle through it.”
Overtime lasted a mere eight seconds, as the Rush watched their hope melt away at the stick of Paul Rabil. Jamison Koesterer won a big faceoff for Washington, which trickled to Rabil who scored past Disher for the Washington win, and a chance to compete in the Champions Cup.

Media
Stealthlax.com
The Lacrosse Blog

Games of the Year #9- Toronto vs Buffalo

The Toronto Rock were the #2 team in the eastern conference, behind only the Orlando Titans. The Buffalo Bandits were the #3 seed, and had to go into Toronto with hopes of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Rock were 0-2 vs Buffalo this season, so it was already a tough matchup for them. And Toronto was in for a tough game again.
Toronto was down 6-0 by the middle of the second quarter, being held scoreless by Buffalo goaltender Micheal Thompson pitching a shutout.
The scoring got started for Buffalo when Roger Vyse got it past Bob Watson three minutes into the game. The next eight minutes was defensive beauty, with not a goal until the end of the period by Brent Bucktooth.
Into the second quarter Bucktooth scored again along with Mike Accursi and Mark Steenhius. Toronto changed their goaltender to Steve Dietrich but Accursi scored again almost immediately. After a faceoff win by Blaine Manning, rookie Stephen LeBlanc scored to put the Rock on the board. After Mike Accursi scored again for Buffalo, Bob Watson re-entered the game as the Toronto goaltender. LeBlanc scored again not long after, followed by Colin Doyle to end the half.
The third period started in back-and-forth fashion, with Accursi and then Doyle scoring, and then Accursi again followed by Toronto's Mike Hominuck. LeBlanc scored the hat trick with his third goal of the game, but then after Steenhius' goal for Buffalo it was 10-7 Bandits. LeBlanc was able to score again, making it 10-8 going into the fourth.
Doyle started the period with a goal to put it within one, but Mike Accursi's sixth goal of the night made sure it did not last very long. Manning was able to score to bring it back within one, and Garret Billing's goal tied it up for the first time since 0-0.
LeBlanc and Doyle scored again, giving Toronto their first lead of the night and the final score stayed that way, with Toronto pulling off a 13-11 comeback victory and a chance to play the Orlando Titans in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Media Coverage:
TorontoRock.com
The Lacrosse Blog

Box Score:

VISITORS: BUFFALO
PLAYERS Pos. G A SOG S LB PIM FO
55 Goodleaf, Angus G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0
66 Thompson, Mike G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0
2 Llord, Ian D 0 0 0 0 1 0 0/0
3 Smith, Billy Dee D 0 1 0 0 6 2 0/0
6 White, Chris D 0 0 0 0 7 2 0/0
7 Harasym, Jon F 0 1 1 1 6 0 0/0
9 Steenhuis, Mark T 2 4 10 13 4 0 0/0
11 Tavares, John F 0 2 8 9 5 0 0/0
15 Corbeil, Chris D 0 0 0 1 12 0 0/0
24 Schmelzle, Kyle D 0 0 0 0 6 0 7/14
26 Bucktooth, Brett F 2 1 4 8 1 0 0/0
44 Accursi, Mike F 6 3 10 13 3 0 0/0
51 Dostie, Kevin F 0 4 1 2 6 0 0/0
63 Montour, Tom F 0 0 0 0 2 0 0/0
65 Hill, Clay D 0 0 0 0 2 0 0/0
81 Vyse, Roger F 1 3 3 3 3 0 0/0
84 Francis, Brandon F 0 0 0 0 0 0 6/14
91 Gibson, Darryl D 0 0 0 0 5 0 0/0
TEAM 11 37 50 69 4 13/28

Goalies GA Mins SOG SVS PIM
55 Goodleaf, Angus 0 4:58 4 4 0
66 Thompson, Mike 13 55:02 42 29 0
Coach: Darris Kilgour

HOME: TORONTO
PLAYERS Pos. G A SOG S LB PIM FO
29 Watson, Bob G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0
30 Dietrich, Steve G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0
4 Gilbert, Jeff D 0 0 0 0 3 0 0/0
5 Chapman, Sandy D 0 0 0 1 7 0 0/0
7 Doyle, Colin F 4 2 8 13 5 0 0/0
8 Reid, Creighton D 0 0 1 1 6 2 0/0
10 McCready, Pat D 0 3 0 2 6 0 0/0
11 Hobbins, Mike D 0 0 2 2 5 0 0/0
13 Billings, Garrett F 1 5 6 9 7 0 0/0
14 Marshall, Rob D 0 1 0 0 7 0 0/0
16 Manning, Blaine F 2 3 5 12 6 0 0/0
17 Leblanc, Stephan F 5 3 11 14 9 0 0/0
18 Sanderson, Phil D 0 0 0 0 4 0 0/0
23 Wasson, Josh F 0 0 3 8 4 0 0/0
33 Beirnes, Kasey F 0 2 3 4 4 0 0/0
44 Hoar, Stephen D 0 0 0 0 2 0 15/28
56 Petkoff, Drew D 0 0 0 1 2 0 0/0
90 Hominuck, Mike F 1 2 7 8 8 0 0/0
TEAM 13 46 75 85 2 15/28

Goalies GA Mins SOG SVS PIM
29 Watson, Bob 9 56:53 35 26 0
30 Dietrich, Steve 2 3:07 2 0 0
Coach: Troy Cordingley

Game of the year #10- Colorado over Michigan

The Michigan Wolverines were the #1 team in the MCLA, and on a 49 game winning streak. The #22 Colorado Buffaloes, on a four game losing streak, were the obvious underdogs.
The Wolverines streak of 49 consecutive wins spanned three seasons and two national championships, while Colorado had so many problems they changed their coach mid season.
Colorado was also 2-5, with six remaining games vs top ten teams. They were done, season over. “Nobody thought we were going to beat Michigan,” said Mike Ryder, Colorado’s new head coach. “Even some of our fans didn’t think we’d win this game.”

The Buffaloes started this one off on the right note, with AJ Blackburn scoring only 1:12 into the game. Little did they know at the time, that was the game winning goal, as Colorado never looked back.
Michigan was dysfunctional all period, with their dynamic duo of Kevin Zorovich and Trevor Yealy not being able to penetrate the Colorado defense.
Colorado scored three more goals in the period, another by Blackburn, and then Colin Rosenblum and Darren Hulik. Michigan was able to score one in the period, a tally from Clark McIntyre.
The second period was more of the same for both teams, except for Zorovich and Yealy scoring one a piece to make it 4-3 and get back into the game a little bit.
However, Roseblum scored two more goals for the hat trick and Kyle Drive beat the buzzer in Colorado's final possession of the half.
If Michigan was able to make any halftime adjustments, they did not show it. The third quarter continued like the previous, with five goals by the Buffaloes to the Wolverines two.
The fourth quarter began with I am sure the Buffaloes feeling like they were about to accomplish the unthinkable. And the Wolverines either felt a sense of panic or determination to get that 50th win in a row, and remain atop the MCLA standings.
Michigan showed up and played their game, playing physical and being aggressive on loose balls. Colorado salvaged an early goal in the period, but did not get more than that. The Wolverines finished the period out shooting the Buffaloes 16-6.
The defense was getting tired in the end, and head coach Mike Ryder had to call a timeout late, where he told his team to "just finish".
Michigan kept the pressure going all period, with time of possession dominating in the Wolverines favor. Goaltender Brad MacNee absolutely stood on his head all period.
“We knew we had the game up”, MacNee stated, “we also knew that it could go away in a second. We kept it tight, they got a few quick ones in, but we stayed calm and came out on top and held it until the last second.”
By the waning seconds of the period Michigan had all the momentum, but Colorado was able to hold on by the skin of their teeth and come out with a victory, and a stunning upset.
“The MCLA is a great league”, Ryder further commented. “A lot of tough competition and Michigan has played in a lot of close games. No one thought we were going to win this one coming in, they thought we were going to be number 50. But it’s one thing I told these guys, we got to end this streak today on our field. We just couldn’t afford to lose anymore on this turf. And this is going to be a turning point for the rest of this program’s season. “
Meanwhile, there is always the other side to an upset. And Michigan coach John Paul talked to the media after the game, saying “It was a matter of time. We were flat all day and in warm-ups. We’re telling the guys right up to the start that they were about to get punched in the mouth.”

Media Coverage:
Lacrosse Magazine

Game of the Year #11 Bayhawks vs Cannons

I wrote about this matchup intensely leading up to the MLL semi-final between the Boston Cannons and Chesapeake Bayhawks. The Cannons were the best team in the league, with the MVP and goaltender of the year. The Bayhawks were the last seed in the playoffs and they barely snuck in with a winning record. I wrote at the time the only chance the Bayhawks had of beating Boston was if goaltender Chris Garritty stood on his head.
.... He did. Here is your 11th game of the year, the Bayhawks and the Cannons!
The Cannons came out firing in this win, winning the opening faceoff and scoring almost immediately. Max Quinzani, the rookie from Duke, scored the first goal of the game.
But Chesapeake came back moments later, when Bugs Combs scored a goal standing right in front of the crease and beating the goaltender of the year Kip Turner. Kevin Buchanan took the lead with his goal for Boston, but it would be their last lead of the game.
That is when the Bayhawks got hot, scoring five straight goals. The first of his three came from Ben Hunt, with his two pointer to give the Bayhawks a quick lead in the first quarter. After that Jeff Reynolds let one go inside the two point line, making it 4-2 Bayhawks after one quarter. Garrity played on his head that period, absolutely shutting down the Cannons.
The Cannons are a good defensive team, but they are mostly a running defensive team. Unless they score, they did not have much of a shot.
In the starting seconds of the second quarter Hunt strikes again, making it a 5-2 lead. Hunt also scored the next goal. The Cannons were having complete defensive breakdowns.
The last goal of their streak came from Jed Prossner beating Turner high. I was wondering why Turner wasn't pulled right there, when they have a good backup in Burke. But Boston stuck with the goaltender of the year, and eventually scored.
After a bad offensive sequence, Boston gets the ball and Buchanan makes them pay, slimming the lead to 7-3. But about one minute later that changed with Combs' goal.
Chesapeake would score two more times to make it 10-3 going into the half. I imagine the Cannons were stunned, but the Bayhawks really game planned for this one good.
The Bayhawks came out firing again, scoring twice sandwiching a Buchanan goal. Boston began their mini-comeback, scoring three straight goals to make it 12-7. That is when Kip Turner was pulled for Jordon Burke.
Into the fourth quarter, Ryan Boyle got a two point shot to make it 12-9. Burke did a terrific job, but Chesapeake scored one more to make it 13-9 which was the final. Boston had a few more possessions with chances to score, but could not, completing one of the biggest upsets in lacrosse this year.

Media Coverage:
Inside lacrosse
The Lacrosse Blog

Game of the Year #12 Duke vs USA

This was probably one of the biggest upsets in the year of lacrosse. It was only an exibition for Duke, but it was an important tuneup for USA. So, what happened in our #12 game of the year?
In a game in Orlando, Florida, in January, was the biggest upset of the year in lacrosse. A game that could have set Team USA back.Duke had been down in the game by five goals and were able to come back. Max Quinzani had the game wining goal with 5.8seconds left.
Team USA jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter, with goals by Matt Streibal, Matt Zash, and Drew Westervelt. But Duke brought the heat in the second quarter, with Joh Offit scoring twice and a goal from Stephen Coyle.
Will McKee and Offit scored again, tying it quickly into the second. But USA settled down their defense in the third quarter, and took the lead 7-5 with goals from Westervelt and Paul Rabil. But USA go undisciplined, and took three penalties. Zach Howell scored two straight extra man goals to tie the game at seven a piece. Brandon Mundorf again put team USA up by one, but Duke would not stay down, with Robert Rotanz tying it.
USA had an extra man opportunity in their last possession, but Duke's defense was able to hold them without a goal. But after the opportunity with USA with the ball, Kyle Dixon dropped it and a scrum for the ball ensued. Long pole Parker McKee and also a member of team USA's forty man roster recovered the ball, and fed it to Quinzani for the game winner.

Notes:
Drew Westervelt and Josh Offit each got hat tricks on the night. Offit was the MVP. Duke played a terrific defense all night, even without all-American players Mike Manley and CJ Costabile. Duke was also forced to use three goaltenders in the game. Devon Sherwood, a five year senior, starting the game, but briefly. He was quickly replaced by Mike Rock, who was later replaced by Drew Wigrizer. Their fourth goaltender, Sean Brady, was serving a suspension.



Media Coverage:
Lacrosse Magazine
Inside Lacrosse

The Lacrosse Blog did not cover this game, as it did not yet exist in January.

Games of the Year- #13

This is going to seem like an odd game but it just stood out to me as one of the most exciting games in the NLL this season.
It was a regular season game between the Boston Blazers and Colorado Mammoth. There was a brawl, goalies ejected, and a game with playoff implications coming down to the final seconds. So here is your number 13 game of the year.
This was the first ever meeting between the Blazers and Mammoth,but they played like they had known each other for a long time.
It was a low scoring game, with no one scoring until ten minutes into the first quarter. Boston did a terrific job defending Colorado, who had averaged 12 goals per game in their last three.
Boston ended up with a 2-0 lead after the first quarter, after goals from Daryl Veltman and Jamie Rooney.
Colorado made it 2-1 seconds into the second, but Dan Dawson scored 28 seconds after that.
The controversy began when Alex Gajic shot hit the post, then deflected behind Anthony Cosmo's leg and the ball spun on the goal line before Boston picked up the loose ball.
However, Colorado coach Bob Hamley threw the challenge flag and the officials ruled the play a good goal.
However, the officials reviewed the play again at halftime and stripped the Mammoth of their second goal, making it 3-1 Boston at halftime.
The third quarter was a high scoring one, with the score at 6-4 Boston going into the final frame.
The Mammoth got lucky when Boston goalie Anthony Cosmo was thrown out of the game for having enlarged pads. So Boston had to go with their backup goaltender,Nick Rose. The Mammoth took advantage of their momentum and starting shooting several shots on net. Colorado tied the game at six before Dan Dawson again worked his magic to take the lead for the Blazers.
Rich Catton tied it again for Colorado, but after a Dan Dawson and Jon Harnett goal the playoffs hope for Colorado were over.

Media coverage:
NLL.com

Box Score:
PLAYERS Pos. G A SOG S LB PIM FO
44 Cosmo, Anthony G 0 0 0 0 0 12 0/0
66 Rose, Nick G 0 1 0 0 0 0 0/0
2 Dawson, Paul D 0 0 0 0 6 2 0/0
6 Dawson, Dan F 5 3 12 13 4 0 0/0
8 Downing, Greg T 0 1 1 1 4 0 0/0
9 Bining, Gary F 0 0 4 5 2 0 0/0
12 Durno, Jon D 0 0 0 0 3 4 0/0
16 Veltman, Daryl F 1 2 7 11 4 0 0/0
18 Reid, Jack D 0 0 0 0 3 2 0/0
20 Hotaling, Ryan T 0 1 1 6 8 0 10/21
23 Queener, Brett T 0 3 0 1 3 0 0/0
26 Kirk, Mike D 0 0 0 0 5 0 0/0
27 Giles, Mat F 1 2 6 6 4 0 0/0
33 Harnett, Jon D 1 0 1 1 4 0 0/0
37 Cotter, Nick F 0 1 9 9 3 2 0/0
85 Belisle, Mitch D 0 0 0 0 7 2 0/0
90 Rooney, Jamie F 1 0 4 6 6 2 0/0
97 Ross, Kyle T 0 0 1 2 2 2 0/0
TEAM 9 46 61 68 28 10/21

PLAYERS Pos. G A SOG S LB PIM FO
30 Levis, Chris G 0 0 0 0 1 0 0/0
41 Leyshon, Andrew G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0
1 Prossner, Jed F 2 1 12 15 6 0 0/0
6 Langtry, Brian F 0 2 8 14 5 0 0/0
8 Carlson, Nick T 0 0 0 0 2 2 0/0
9 Gajic, Ilija F 0 0 6 12 4 4 0/0
10 Gajic, Alex F 1 0 8 8 2 2 0/0
11 Gallant, John D 0 0 0 0 4 0 0/0
17 Richardson, Brad D 0 1 0 0 5 0 11/21
18 Malawsky, Derek F 0 2 4 4 2 2 0/0
20 Murray, Bruce D 0 0 0 0 1 0 0/0
24 McFadyen, Ryan D 0 0 1 1 3 0 0/0
27 Smith, Cliff T 1 0 1 1 7 0 0/0
28 Ethington, Tom D 0 0 0 0 5 0 0/0
36 McKay, Chris D 0 2 0 0 7 4 0/0
48 Catton, Rich D 1 0 1 1 2 0 0/0
85 Shewchuk, Jamie F 2 0 9 14 6 0 0/0
91 Conway, Cory F 0 0 2 3 2 0 0/0
TEAM 7 52 73 64 14 11/21

Game #14- MLL All-star Game

This was another game that was special to me, as I attended it as well. But this was about as an exciting all-star game as you will see in any sport. It was not phony, like the NBA or NHL. The players didn't shoot it off, like the NFL, and it was not overboard like the MLB. No, the MLL did this right.
They selected the top players of the MLL that were not on Team USA, and pitted them against that team who was to go overseas in the next week to take on the FIL.
The MLL All-stars did give USA a scare. So let's revisit this game, as we count down our top 15.....
We had coverage of this game here in July, so here is the recap from it that I wrote at the time;

Team USA eked by the MLL All-Stars, 13-12, to finish their exhibition play.
The Bud Light MVP Brenden Mundorf scored six goals for USA and scored the game winner. Ryan Powell scored the goal that brought them within one and the game winner. For the MLL All-Stars, they put in a terrific effort, with Anthony Kelly, Kevin LeVeille, and Peet Poillon scoring two goals a piece.
The key to the game was the MLL All-Stars great defense that shut down Paul Rabil. The MLL All-Stars were projected to have great defense, but at times in the first half Team USA looked over matched. They dropped a lot passes and looked very sloppy on offense, and blew some coverages on defense. They ended up with the lead after two though, with a five goal second period.
The Halftime skills contest was spectacular. Paul Rabil defended his title as hardest shot, and tied his record shooting 111. Chicago rookie Ned Crotty won the two point contest, and Kevin Buchanan won the free style, scoring after running up a staircase made of people (including Anthony Kelly) balanced on the crossbar, and scored.
In the second half, the MLL All-Stars made a run and took the lead, 9-6. Matt Danowski scored on a two point shot to tie it and then the All-Stars scored three more goals. But Mundorf took over again and scored two goals before the end of the period to cut the lead to one going into the fourth quarter. Ryan Powell put in the game winner with 1:00 left.

Media Coverage:
Inside Lacrosse
NESN