Barrage Fall to Rattlers, 16-12
July 25, 2002 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Philadelphia Barrage News Release
(Bridgeport, CT, July 25, 2002) â The Bridgeport Barrage, Connecticut's only professional lacrosse team and a charter member of Major League Lacrosse (MLL), fell to the Rochester Rattlers 16-12 on Thursday evening before 3,165 fans at Harbor Yard. The Barrage dropped their fifth straight game despite holding Rochester to just two goals in the entire second half of play.
Bud Light MVP John Fay (4g, 1a) helped lead the Rattlers to their highest scoring output of the 2002 season. Josh Coffman, Ryan Powell and Cory Kahoun each had two goals and three assists for Rochester.
Mark Spruyt shined in goal, helping anchor the Barrage defense that held the Rattlers to just two goals in the second half. He was the named the Sobe Iron Lizard Award winner with 14 performance in the second half. Matt Striebel led the Barrage with two goals.
Justin Cynar made nine savers in his debut with in the Barrage in the first half while Rochester's Brian Dougherty earned the win after turning away 15 Barrage shots.
The Barrage managed to score two goals in a span of five seconds in the last minute of play, including a two-pointer by Dan Denihan, but that scoring burst was not enough to overcome the 16-12 final. Bridgeport trailed the entire game and came up short in their effort to overcome a eight-goal, second quarter deficit.
Bridgeport and Rochester battled for almost the first ten minutes of the fourth quarter without scoring a goal until the Rattler's John Fay scored his fourth goal of the game on a feed from Josh Coffman. Fay's goal snapped a streak of over 25 minutes where Rochester was held scoreless.
Bridgeport turned the tide on the Rattlers by scoring the only three goals of the third quarter on shots by Jim Mormile, Todd Eichelberger and Matt Striebel to pull within five goals at 14-9. The Barrage gave the Rattlers a dose of their own defensive prowess by shuting them out in the third quarter. It marked the second time this season that the Barrage defense has held the opposition scoreless for an entire quarter of play (also 6/28 at Baltimore in the 1st quarter).
Rochester opened up the second quarter by scoring four unanswered goals to take a commanding 10-2 lead. Jake Bergey and Ryan Mollett each scored on passes from Ryan Powell in a span of 11 seconds to kick off the scoring attack for the Rattlers in the that quarter. After being held scoreless for a span of 11 minutes the Barrage scored three goals, including a two-pointer by Roy Colsey to pull with in four goals (10-6). However, that would be the closest the Barrage would would get as Rochester closed out the first half with another four-goal run en route a 14-6 halftime advantage.
The Rattlers used a two-goal flurry fueled by Cory Kahoun and Nate Wadkins scores to seize a 2-0 lead just three minutes into the MLL contest en route to taking a 6-2 lead after the first quarter. John Fay and Wadkins paced Rochester's offensive output in the opening quarter with two goals apiece. The Barrage got on the scoreboard in the opening quarter with goals by Andy Towers and Matt Panetta.
With the loss, the Barrage drop to 1-9 on the season while Rochester improves to 4-5. The Bridgeport Barrage will resume play when they square off against the Boston Cannons on Saturday, July 27 at 7:00 p.m. at Cawley Stadium.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from July 25, 2002
- Barrage Fall to Rattlers, 16-12 - Philadelphia Barrage
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