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MLL New York Lizards

Lizards Advance to Championship Game

August 21, 2010 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
New York Lizards News Release


A current ad from Warrior Lacrosse talks about the year 2025, a day where lacrosse will become a primetime professional sport and after today, hopefully replay classic games such as Saturday's semifinal thriller where the Long Island Lizards topped the Denver Outlaws 16-12. The two weeks off in between the end of the regular season and Championship Weekend didn't slow down the Lizards hot streak, as their sixth win in a row earns them a date with the Chesapeake Bayhawks for the Steinfeld Cup. After a high scoring first half, the physical defense and the relentless play of Stephen Berger helped the Lizards reach their first championship game since 2005.

In order to advance to the MLL Championship the Lizards had to do something they had never done in their history: defeat the Denver Outlaws. The Lizards were 0-7 all time against the western MLL representative, but the teams had never met in the postseason.

Berger earned Bud Light MVP honors with his five goals and one assist; giving him his third four goal game in the Lizards last four contests. Berger's undeniable determination seems to heighten when his team needs it most, as he excelled down the stretch with 14 of his 28 points coming in the last three games of the year. In his first playoff game in 2005, he scored five goals and had an assist against the Boston Cannons to gain the Lizards a berth in the championship against the Bayhawks and did just that again on Saturday. In his first four playoff games, Berger has 14 goals and four assists.

The Lizards got started off on the right foot when Keith Cromwell spun away from a defender, faked a shot to get the goalie out of position and beat goalie Jesse Schwartzman for his first goal of the game. Only a minute into the game, Schwartzman would begin a familiar routine of turning around and scooping the ball out of the net as the Lizards brought their best offensive game south to Annapolis. Berger then used a spin move of his own to get past a defender on the outside and went to a diving backhand shot to for his first goal of the game.

Sean Delaney then got a clear angle on the left side off a feed from Alex Hopmann that got the Outlaws on the board. Cromwell then displayed his excellent field vision to find Matt Danowski eagerly waiting for an easy goal just outside of the crease. Max Seibald then fought past Lizards defender Brian Spallina and was able to sneak a shot past Drew Adams when it appeared he had no angle at all from the side of the goal. Berger would close out the first quarter scoring as he ran in from behind the net and beat the stick of Schwartzman to get the Lizards a power play goal.

Tensions would start to rise in the second quarter as both teams tried desperately to grasp a shot at the MLL Championship. Nicky Polanco was at the center of it all, as he plays the role of antagonist about as often as Jack Nicholson, getting himself a five minute misconduct for mixing it up with Drew Westervelt. The first half featured 11 different infractions and a total of 14.5 penalty minutes as neither side would back down.

Brenden Mundorf comes back and quickly answer's Berger's efforts with a wrap around effort of his own that barely trickles over the line after being deflected by Drew Adams. The goal would spark a run for Denver as both Dan Hardy and Drew Westervelt would contribute goals to give the Outlaws a 5-4 lead. The goal by Westervelt was top play worthy as he was set up by a beautiful fake shot, behind the back pass from Brian Langtry that had everyone attendance in amazement. Berger wouldn't allow Langtry to steal the show however as he continued his scoring ways with a quick juke move off a Cromwell pass to free up a quick shot into the top corner of the net.

Matt Brown gave the advantage back to Denver as he used a questionable screen to open up a lane for him in the middle and beat Adams. Berger would score again, giving him four goals in the first half, after working his way into the middle of the zone as Danowski dodged in and dumped it off to the open Berger. Another strong run by the Outlaws would give them their biggest lead of the game and seemed to give them control after Mundorf added his second goal, Langtry scored his first and Kevin Unterstein added another.

Zack Greer, fresh off the plane from Canada, would then get his first goal of the afternoon falling to the ground after an aggressive Denver check. An ensuing two man advantage would open up Long Island's long range snipers for some clear shots, which resulted in Stephen Peyser getting his first goal of the game from the outside. Tim Goettelmann would then tie the game at 9-9 late in the half as great ball movement allowed "The Monster" to sneak in from behind the goal and send a pass from Berger into the back of the net.

After struggling to find their way in the first half, the Lizards defense would find their rhythm in the second half and never allowed the Outlaws to get comfortable. They closed off passing lanes and forced the Outlaws to rely on one on one battles that resulted in only three goals in the half for the second place squad. Polanco had four groundballs and John Orsen had three as they never allowed Denver to get any uncontested chances. Despite some over aggressiveness, Long Island was able to kill off all five penalties that the Outlaws were awarded. Drew Adams also stepped up his game in the second half stopping nine of twelve shots in the thirty minutes.

Early in the second half, Greer used a fake spin from the right to open up his left-handed whip shot into the top corner of the net to give the Lizards a goal advantage. Max Seibald got his second goal courtesy of some quick shooting that froze goalie Drew Adams. Following the Seibald goal, the Lizards would gain control of the semifinal contest as a 5-2 third quarter gave them all the momentum they needed to hold on for the victory.

Chris Fiore got involved in the scoring after a quiet first half with a nice left-handed shot that made the game 11-10. Later Danowski face dodged his way past Denver defenders and found Greer salivating in his comfort zone right in front of the net for a quick rip into goal. Hardy got his second goal for Denver after posting up Peyser and getting himself a clear shot at goal. Greer would then send another blistering shot into goal after Cromwell left a bounce pass off for him after Greer's defender doubled off. Greer's unique delivery continues to resemble the crispness, continuity and accuracy of a pitching machine and give goalies fits. Joel Dalgarno then made his own impact on the game with his quick stick skills and a well aimed shot that just found its way into goal.

As soon as the fourth quarter began, Berger did his best to end the chances of the Denver Outlaws staging a comeback. After a face off win, he got a pass near the thirty five yard line and came sprinting towards goal; using a fake shot to get in close and beat the goalie's stick. Peyser would then beat his old John Hopkins teammate Schwartzman for the second time from the outside; despite Schwartzman's usual steadiness on the long attempts.

The rest of the quarter was all about ball control for the Lizards as Nate Watkins contributed the only goal in the quarter for the Outlaws. The slow down tactics resulted in a few shot clock violations for the Lizards but they were able to wind off some precious minutes late in the game.

As much as the Lizards struggled early in the year, they seem to be peaking at the right time due to their controlled play down the stretch. Coach of the Year Jim Mule has established clear roles for his players and they seem to be adjusting very nicely to each of them. Danowski continues to spark the offense along with the aggressiveness of Berger. Goettelmann gets the tough goals and Cromwell has taken on the important role of distributor. Greer has made himself the consistent finisher from in front of net. Polanco and Spallina anchor the defense along with midseason additions Ricky Pages, Parker McKee and John Orsen.

The championship game will take place tomorrow at 1 o'clock on ESPN2 and will be a throwback matchup as these teams have met in the championship four times before. Each side has won two championships and will look tie the Philadelphia Barrage franchise for the most championships in MLL history. The Lizards are looking to win their first Steinfeld Cup since the 2003 season.

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