Lancers Defeat Syracuse in Game One, 20-7
March 5, 2015 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
Rochester Lancers News Release
(Rochester, NY) - The Rochester Lancers kicked off the first round of MASL postseason action by welcoming the Syracuse Silver Knights to the War Memorial at the Blue Cross Arena on Thursday night. The opening game of the Eastern Division Semi Finals was all Lancers who put together a complete game in taking a 1-0 lead in the two game series, winning 20-7.
Syracuse opened the night's scoring five minutes into the match when Marcos Chantel tallied a goal putting the visitors up 2-0. The lead didn't hold very long as just over thirty seconds later, Rochester striker Mauricio Salles connected on a pair of three-pointers less that half a minute apart to give the red-hot Lancers a 6-2 lead after the first period.
The second period began with the Lancers in control of the match and looking to add to their advantage. Increase their advantage they did beginning with Andrew Hoxie. Hoxie worked a nifty give-and-go with Joey Tavernese that ended with Hoxie's left-footer increasing the Rochester lead to 8-2. First year Lancer Brad Vanino beat Syracuse "Ëkeeper Rick Pflasterer to notch his first postseason goal at the 8:57 mark of the quarter sending the Lancers to the dressing room with a 10-2 halftime lead.
While the Lancers offensively, seemed to be in command for much of the game, Rochester goalkeeper Joey Kapinos had a strong match, facing 30 shots in the match. The Lancers closed out the regular season strong defensively allowing five goals or less in seven of their last nine games. During the first half of play the defensive effort was led by Kapinos who turned aside Slavisa Ubiparapovic with a diving stop before doing the same on Neto moments later.
Meanwhile at the other end when the Lancers took the field to start the third quarter, Plasterer had been set down in favor of netminder Bryan O'Quinn. O'Quinn was welcomed into the game quickly as Jeremy Ortiz tallied twenty four seconds into the half making the score 12-2. Syracuse's Cory Elenio had a chance to score early but was denied by Kapinos who later charged out of the net to alter Antonio Manfut's attempt wide. Moments later Manfut had a second chance to beat Kapinos and this time converted to cut the Lancer lead to 12-4. Syracuse seemed to be gaining momentum as the Lancers picked up two penalties within six seconds for too many men, giving the Knights a two-minute 5-on-3 advantage. Any momentum the Knights were building was killed by the trio of Stephen Basso, Jake Schindler and Edgar who along with Kapinos killed off the entirety of the penalty.
The Lancers used the penalty kill to their advantage, using the momentum gained to quickly increase their lead. Tavernese started the Rochester run by gaining possession deep in the Syracuse end and sliding a ball beneath O'Quinn for the goal. Two minutes later Yaikel Perez and Brad Vanino had each tallied to give Rochester an 18-4 lead after three quarters of play.
The two teams traded fourth quarter goals which began with Tavernese's second of the game, making the score 20-4 where it would remain until the final seconds when Bo Jelovac connected on a three-pointer to make the final 20-7.
The Lancers and Knights will kickoff game two of the series on Sunday in Syracuse in a 4:00 p.m. start. In the event that Rochester and Syracuse split the two game series, a mini-game will be played immediately following the match.
The Lancers announced after the game that striker Joey Tavernese has played his last game with the club. The team's second leading scorer will be heading to play professionally in China.
Major Arena Soccer League Stories from March 5, 2015
- Lancers Defeat Syracuse in Game One, 20-7 - Rochester Lancers
- Knights Downed in Game 1 - Syracuse Silver Knights
- Playoff Preview: Game 2 - Chicago Mustangs
- Sockers Midfielder Ney Named to MASL 2014/15 All-Rookie Team - San Diego Sockers
- Ambush Forward Gurson Named to MASL All-Rookie Team - St. Louis Ambush
- Vini Dantas and Onua Obasi Named to MASL All Rookie Team - Baltimore Blast
- MASL Announces 2014/15 All-Rookie Team - Kansas City Comets
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
