Boston Cannons Lose in Overtime
Published on June 5, 2009 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Boston Cannons News Release
BOSTON, MA - Friday, June 5, 2009 - The Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) were defeated by a score of 14-13, in a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Long Island Lizards in front of 2,158 fans at Hofstra University's Shuart Stadium on Friday evening. The game marks the fourth consecutive match-up between the two teams that has been decided by just one goal. Lizards midfielder Chris Fiore (UMass '03) earned the Bud Light MVP after netting four goals in the game, including the game-winner in overtime. Attackman Sean Morris (UMass '06) led the Cannons in scoring with four goals and two assists.
With the loss, the Cannons' record fell to 1-3 this season, while the Lizards saw their record improve to 2-2.
The Cannons got on the scoreboard first in tonight's cold, rainy rematch with the Lizards, as midfielder Paul Rabil (Johns Hopkins '08) found the back of Lizards goalie Brian Dougherty's (Maryland '97) net at 2:43, to grab a 1-0 advantage. From there, the Lizards took over, scoring goals at 3:47, 6:23 and 10:03 to build a 3-1 lead in a game that was choppy from the start. Morris scored his first goal of the contest at 14:59, assisted by defenseman Kyle Sweeney (Georgetown '03), to close the gap to 3-2 at the end of the first quarter.
The second frame was all Long Island, as rookie Zach Greer (Bryant â09) collected two quick goals at 1:00 and 1:22 to take a 5-2 lead. After another Lizards goal at 2:18, attackman Matt Alrich (Delaware '04) broke their momentum with his tally at 6:31. Morris earned the assist on the goal by Alrich. The Lizards, however, were able to regain control and collected goals at 8:18 and 11:55, to take an 8-3 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was an exciting one, as the Cannons racked up four unanswered goals, including a two-point goal, to tie the game at 8-8. The first goal was scored by Sweeney, assisted by Alrich, just 17 seconds into the frame. After that, midfielder Kevin Cassese (Duke '03) executed a perfect hidden ball trick that he and his former Philadelphia Barrage team used against the Cannons last season. Morris tossed the ball to Cassese near the 35-yard line, and then Cassese faked handing the ball to attackman John Christmas (Virginia '05) as he ran by, but instead quickly turned around and fired for a long-range two-point goal at 3:53 that nobody saw coming, closing the Lizards' advantage to 8-6. The Cannons continued their surge and tied the game with Sweeney's second marker of the contest at 4:29 and also Morris' second tally of the game at 5:40. Attackman Ryan Boyle (Princeton '04) assisted on the goal by Morris. The Lizards were able to stop the bleeding with a goal at 8:30, but Christmas recaptured the momentum for the Cannons with his first goal of the season at 13:25, after missing the first two games due to injury, tying the score at 9-9. Christmas found the net again at 9:46 for his second goal of the game, with Morris earning his second assist of the contest to give the Cannons a 10-9 advantage, but the Lizards squeezed in one more tally at 14:38 to tie the game once more heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
Long Island opened the fourth quarter with a goal at 2:34 to take an 11-10 lead, but midfielder Tom Zummo (NYIT '05) answered back for the Cannons at 4:53 to tie the game at 11-11. Cannons goalie Mike Levin (Brown '04) made some big saves and allowed the Cannons to take a 13-11 lead with Morris' third goal of the game at 7:26, followed by his fourth of the contest, a behind-the-back goal assisted by Christmas, at 9:05. The Lizards hung on and tied the score at 13-13 with tallies at 13:34 and 14:03, and the Cannons were unable to convert a man-up opportunity within the final 21 seconds of regulation, sending the contest into sudden death overtime.
The Lizards won the face-off to open the overtime segment and called a time-out, allowing them to regroup and plan their attack before Fiore, a former Cannon, netted the game-winning goal 22 seconds into the extra frame.
Levin made 18 saves on the 32 shots he faced in the loss. Dougherty stopped 14 of 26 shots to earn the win.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from June 5, 2009
- Boston Cannons Lose in Overtime - Boston Cannons
- MLL Insider - June 2009 - MLL
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