Coffman leads Rattlers to 17-13 win over Bayhawks
Published on July 10, 2004 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Chesapeake Bayhawks News Release
Towson, Md. â Attackman Josh Coffman scored a career-high six goals to lead the Rochester Rattlers (4-2, 3-1 National Division) to their third win in the last four games with a 17-13 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) victory over the Baltimore Bayhawks (3-3, 2-1) in front of a season-high 4,849 at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium on Saturday evening.
With the win, Rochester takes the season series over the Bayhawks by a two-games-to-one margin for the first time in the four-year series history. After winning ten of the first 11 games in the series, the Bayhawks have lost back-to-back games to their National Division rival.
After Ryan Powell gave the Rattlers a 1-0 lead two minutes into the first quarter, the Bayhawks quickly took a 4-1 lead on a pair of two-point goals by midfielders Mark Frye and Kip Fulks with 10:21 left in the opening period. Rochester quickly regained the advantage at 6-4 by scoring five unanswered goals to end the first quarter. Coffman led the Rochester charge with a pair of goals in the rally.
Attackman Tom Marechek ended the Rattlers' momentum with consecutive goals to start the second quarter, tying the game at 6-6 with 9:57 remaining in the second period. Ryan Powell teamed up with brother Casey to score three straight goals for the Rattlers, reclaiming the edge at 9-6 with 1:35 left. Marechek added his third goal of the period with 56 seconds left in the quarter, sending Rochester to the locker room with a two-point advantage.
Rochester extended its lead early in the third quarter with a 4-0 run to expand the margin at 13-7 with 6:31 left in the stanza. Coffman scored twice during the spurt to tie his career high with five goals in the game. Midfielder Gary Gait scored off a Dan Marohl pass with 5:07 left to break the Baltimore drought. Marohl followed with a power-play goal before Coffman registered his sixth goal of the contest, a short-handed tally with 2:34 remaining in the quarter.
Jude Collins started the fourth quarter scoring with an unassisted goal at the 14:07 mark of the period before Nate Watkins tallied a goal off a feed from A.J. Shannon to extend the advantage to 15-10 with 11:45 remaining. The Bayhawks and the Rattlers traded goals twice to end the game, including a two-point goal by midfielder Jeff Sonke with 5:26 left in regulation.
Coffman led the Rattler offense in the win, while Ryan Powell scored four goals with four assists. Marechek led the Bayhawks with three goals, while goalkeeper Rob Scherr made 22 saves in his first career start.
With the loss, Baltimore has lost three straight home games for the first time in team history. The Bayhawks' last win at home was on August 9, 2003 in a 19-14 decision over the Rattlers that clinched Baltimore a playoff berth. Rochester has now won back-to-back games in Baltimore after losing the first five in the Charm City during the series.
Baltimore returns to action next Saturday afternoon, traveling to Sprague Field to face the New Jersey Pride, who fell to 1-6 on the season with a 20-18 loss to Long Island on Saturday. Rochester faces the Boston Cannons on Saturday night.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from July 10, 2004
- Barrage fall to the Cannons, 20-18 - Philadelphia Barrage
- Coffman leads Rattlers to 17-13 win over Bayhawks - Chesapeake Bayhawks
- "Doc" breaks MLL save-record as Lizards outscore NJ, 20-18 - New York Lizards
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