Dragons Lose In Home Opener
Published on June 1, 2008 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
San Francisco Dragons News Release
Burlingame (CA) - The Dragons took a painful loss this evening to in-state rivals, the LA Riptide. In a match-up that should have been a lot closer, the Dragons young team seemed unable to find confidence and consistency in their own abilities. The first 5 minutes of the game, the Dragons looked ragged but finally began to settle. Matt Vallone managed to hold off the LA attack until Liam Banks scored off a Steve Holmes pass to put the Dragons on the board first. Kyle Harrison responded for the Riptide with an unassisted goal in the next minute followed by Jesse Hubbard's first goal of the game to end the first quarter. Greg Gurenlian evened up the score off the second quarter's beginning face-off. Gurenlian was 18-30 face-off wins for the game.
Matt Casey tallied his first goal off a Hubbard pass to put LA back on top. Jarett Park ripped an assisted corner shot and was followed by a Banks to Tim Booth combo to put the Dragons ahead for the first time in the game. The lead lasted for exactly one minute with Casey picking up his second goal and then the next pair of goals came from Chazz Woodson who was unbeatable. Wrong footing his Dragons defenders he was airborne on the right post with a behind the back goal which found the net on the far side of Vallone before landing in the crease. Twenty seconds later he repeated the performance.
The remainder of the game was a see-saw of goals on both sides with LA edging ahead to finish with a four-goal win. Final 13-17.
Banks led San Francisco with 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) with followed by hat tricks (3 goals) from Tim Booth and Jarett Park. Recently acquired, Sean Lindsay scored a 2 pointer against his former team. Jake Byrne picked up a goal and rookie Brendan Loftus made his first MLL goal. Steve Holmes added a goal and an assist, and Dave Mitchell was good for an assist. Goalie Matt Vallone made 18 saves in the loss.
Hubbard led Los Angeles with 4 points (2 goals, 1 two-point goal, 1 assist) followed by hat tricks from Matt Casey and Chazz Woodson. Woodson was named the Bud Light Player of the Game. Goalie Mickey Jarboe had 16 saves in Riptide's win.
Captain Liam Banks summarized the team's feelings after the game. "We're never happy to lose, we wanted to come out and win for these fans. We just have to minimize our mistakes, dominate the ground balls to be ready for Chicago. We have some good rookies and picking up (Sean) Lindsay will help us too." He continued, "Spartan is a beautiful stadium. Doug (Doug Locker, Dragons' Exec. VP/GM) and the rest of the ownership did a lot to make things better for us; a real locker room, a nice field, we couldn't be happier."
"It's weird going out and playing against guys you were with in training camp. There's a lot of emotion out there, and I still have a lot of friends over there," former Riptide and new Dragon, Sean Lindsay admitted after the game. But he plans to do what it takes to strengthen the team: "I'm a fifth year veteran, I have a lot of experience, and I've been to the playoffs every year but one. We have a pretty good team here, lots of good players and rookies picked up at the draft, our goal is to get to the championship, and I'm going to help them get there."
Dragons Head Coach, Tom Slate commented on the game, "We added a couple new guys midweek, we had to adjust our game, by the 2nd (quarter) it got better. Our decision making was off tonight. But it comes down to basics: we need to take care of the ball."
"The stadium has great atmosphere. It was a shame we got the loss. We look forward to getting a "W" for the fans. Being 0-2, we have to get a "W"; we got to scratch, claw, and do whatever we have to do to get that "W"."
The Dragons' first home game against San Jose State University's Stadium Spartan saw a crowd of 3671 to cheer on the purple and black. The pro game was the highlight of lacrosse competition during the Northern California Junior Lacrosse Associations' Championship weekend which the Dragons are hosting at the stadium.
The Dragons will face the Chicago Machine at Spartan Stadium next Saturday, June 7 for a rematch of their first game. San Francisco dropped their other meeting with the Machine last month at Toyota Park in a heart-breaker, 10-9. They will need a good "W" to get the fire back heading into the rest of the season. Face-off time is 7PM.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from June 1, 2008
- Dragons Lose In Home Opener - San Francisco Dragons
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