Cannons Suffer Close Loss to Lizards 11-10
May 31, 2014 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Boston Cannons News Release
BOSTON, MA (May 30, 2014) - The Boston Cannons (2-3) and the New York Lizards (3-2) matched up for the first time this season Friday night at Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, NY. The Cannons and Lizards were back and forth all night but ultimately, New York was able to pull away with the 11-10 victory.
"We played hard all night long, yet left a ton of opportunities on the field," said Cannons Head Coach John Tucker. "I felt we had too many turnovers and played a great deal in our defensive half."
The Cannons got on the board first with a goal from Paul Rabil, after a nice pass from Stephen Berger, who fired it past Lizards' goalie Drew Adams for the first goal of the game, and his 8 th of the season. Just moments later, after the Lizards struggled to get open, Ned Crotty was able to take the ball in himself to tie the game 1-1.
From there, the Cannons did a good job adjusting and regained the lead at 2-1 with a goal by Kevin Buchanan. Stephen Berge was next up to score after a Cannons shot clock violation and a Lizards turnover to give the Cannons a 3-1 lead to end the quarter.
Coming out into the second quarter, the Lizards scored back-to-back goals from Matt Striebel and Rob Pannell to tie the game at 3. Boston quickly answered with a goal by Owen Blye to take back the lead. Max Seibald scored two goals in a row quickly after to give New York their first lead of the night. With about five minutes left in the half, Rabil scored his second goal of the night to once again tie the game. New York responded with a David Earl goal to take the 4-3 lead into halftime.
Coming into the second half, neither team had clear control of the ball until four minutes in when Boston was able to create some offense. Will Manny scored off of a pass by Rabil, which was quickly followed up with a goal from Mike Stone to give the Cannons a 7-6 lead. Following a slashing penalty on Brodie Merrill, the Lizards were able to score once again, tying the game. New York took the lead for the second time in the half off of a nice play by Kevin Unterstein.
Moments later, Ryan Boyle was able to score his first goal of the night off of a pass from Rabil, who picked up his 21 st assist of the season, ending the quarter tied 8-8. With that goal, Boyle took sole possession of the MLL All-Time point scoring record.
The back and forth scoring action continued in the final frame. Manny scored his second goal of the game to put Boston back on top for a short time as Tommy Palasek snuck the ball past Jordan Burke to tie the game at 9. Pannell scored his second goal soon after, temporarily giving the Lizards their fourth lead of the night. However, Berger scored his second tally of the night tying the game for a final time.
New York's Crotty completed his hat trick to give the Lizards their final lead of the night, and after two great stops by Adams, the Cannons were unable to regain any control. Ultimately, the Lizards were able to hold on to their one point lead to come away with the victory, and the Cannons suffered their 3 rd one point loss on the season.
"Our team showed heart but we need to find ways to get over the hump," Head Coach John Tucker said.
Next up, the Cannons will take on the Ohio Machine on Friday, June 6th on CBS Sports Network at 8:00 p.m.
Game Notes
-Boyle temporarily regained control of the MLL All-Time Points record tallying a goal and an assist to put him one ahead of Powell who's Florida Launch visit Rochester on Sunday
-Boston and New York were evenly matched on man-up opportunities, each going 1-2. -There were nine different lead changes throughout the game.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from May 31, 2014
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- Cannons Suffer Close Loss to Lizards 11-10 - Boston Cannons
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