Sports stats



MLL New York Lizards

Lizards Set Home Attendance Record

July 18, 2009 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
New York Lizards News Release


The Long Island Lizards (5-4) fell to the Toronto Nationals (5-5) in front of a record-breaking crowd at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium. 7,621 Lizards fans were in attendance to watch their team fall to Toronto 9-19 in their first home loss since May 21st. Toronto's offense was led by Joe Walters with four goals and two assists, and Bud Light Game MVP Jeff Zywicki, who posted three goals and three assists on the night.

Saturday night's game opened up with a back-and-forth first quarter. Long Island's Keith Cromwell scored the first point of the night three minutes into the game, but Cromwell's shot was quickly answered with a goal from Toronto's Geoff Snider. The Nationals immediately followed up with their second point of the game with an unassisted goal from Delby Powless. Toronto led Long Island 1-2 after the first quarter.

The second quarter kicked off with a goal from Toronto attacker Merrick Thompson. Merrick is currently the top scoring player in the MLL with 33 goals on the season. Toronto continued their dominance with an unassisted goal from Nationals midfielder Jordan Hall. Long Island's Stephen Peyser and Matt Zash helped the Lizards pick up the pace midway through the second quarter scoring one point each. Toronto quickly retaliated with four more unassisted goals, making the score 3-8 at the 3:10 mark. Toronto's Brodie Merrill, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime for the Old School during this week's MLL All-Star Game, posted one point for the Nationals during the quarter. Lizards veteran Tim Goettelmann responded with a powerful goal with 1:23 left on the clock, but Toronto scored once more before time ran out, securing a 4-9 Toronto lead to end the first half.

Toronto scored two goals in the opening minute of the second half, posting a 4-11 score at the 14:00 mark of the third quarter. The Nationals followed up with two more goals from Toronto defenseman Nick O'Hara and Midfielder Joe Walters. Long Island's Keith Cromwell scored once again in the third quarter, this time posting two points with an exciting two-point shot. Cromwell scored again toward the end of the quarter with an assist from 2009 MLL All-Star Stephen Berger. Despite Crowell's valiant effort, the Lizards trailed Toronto 7-14 at the end of the third quarter.

Long Island's Matt Zash posted his second goal of the night at the beginning of the 4th quarter. Tim Goettelmann scored his second goal of the night for Long Island with an assist from John Glynn just before the 10:00 mark. Despite the record-breaking crowd and fourth quarter enthusiasm, the Lizards fell to the Nationals with a final score of 9-19.

The Lizards are now 5-4 on the season and will play their final game at home on August 1st. The Lizards will take on the Denver Outlaws at 7pm on Saturday, August 1st at Hofstra University's Shuart Stadium. Tickets are available at www.longIslandlizards.com or by calling 1-866-LIZARD-1.

Check out the New York Lizards Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Major League Lacrosse message board...

Major League Lacrosse Stories from July 18, 2009


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.

Other Recent New York Lizards Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central