Dragons Lose Heartbreaker
July 15, 2007 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
San Francisco Dragons News Release
San Francisco- The San Francisco Dragons (2-6) led most of the game but couldn't hang on with four seconds left as the Washington Bayhawks (5-4) leave foggy San Francisco with their first win in four games. The final, 16-15, was a physical battle up until the last second between two teams facing each other for the first time.
The Dragons pick up their third loss in a row and lose another close one. San Francisco played again without star attackman Ryan Powell, but his teammates stepped up to provide offense. Chris Rotelli led the attack for the Dragons as he finished with four goals, one 2-pointer, and three assists.
The first half was all San Francisco, as the Dragons at one point led 8-4 but the lead slowly disappeared as penalties piled up and the Bayhawks took advantage. In the first, Jake Byrne put a corner shot in to give the dragons a 4-2 lead and went on to finish the game with two goals and two assists. Jarret Park gave the Dragons a 6-3 lead at the start of the 2nd quarter and ended with three goals and five ground balls.
The third quarter started to get out of control when the Dragons landed big defensive hits on their opponents but a 2-pointer by Conor Gill with 4:17 left in the third brought Washington within two points, 12-10. The quarter ended 12-11 as the momentum turned in favor of the Bayhawks.
San Francisco's physical play cost them during the end of the game, as the Bayhawks picked up three powerplay goals in a row which proved to be the turning point. Overall, Washington was 5 of 7 during man-up opportunities while the Dragons were 1 for 4. Chris Garrity had 22 saves for the Bayhawks while Matt Vallone had 11 saves for San Francisco.
The fourth quarter was back and forth with the Dragons giving up the lead and going down 14-12. Jarett Park got it within one with 10:01 left in the fourth and Greg Rommel tied it up at 14. With 7:47 left, Bud Light MVP of the Game Tom Marechek made a behind the back shot to take a 15-14 lead, before Liam Banks put a trick shot in the goal to tie it at 15 with 27 seconds remaining in the game.
With overtime four seconds away, Conor Gill passed Eric Martin and found the back of the net for a victory. Gill finished with 3 goals, including two 2-pointers, and three assists for 8 points. Faceoffs were key in the loss for San Francisco as Greg Gurenlian went 10-21 and Tim Booth finished 4-11. For the Bayhawks, Kevin Frew was 18-32.
New Players for the Dragons stepped up in their first appearance at Kezar Stadium. Greg Rommel added a goal while Hunter Lochte had one goal and one assist. The Dragons lost John Keysor in the first quarter as he went down with a possible ACL tear. The 2006 Hofstra University graduate has played in three games for the Dragons and has one goal on the year.
San Francisco stays home to take on the Chicago Machine at 1 pm. Today's game can be seen on Tuesday July 17th at noon PST on ESPN2-HD.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from July 15, 2007
- Dragons Lose Heartbreaker - San Francisco Dragons
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