Offensive Woes Hurt Pride in Loss to Rattlers
Published on June 23, 2006 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
New Jersey Pride News Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Down their top two face-off men and unable to mount a serious offensive attack in the second half, the New Jersey Pride lost for the second game in a row, this time a 13-11 decision to the Rochester Rattlers in front of 4,104 at newly opened Paetec Park.
The Pride scored only five goals in the final 39 minutes of the game and only four goals in the entire second half.
"Obviously if you want to win ballgames in this league, you have to score more than we did tonight,'' said Pride head coach Peter Jacobs. "We were hurt and down two men in the midfield, but we played well defensively. We had to do a better job than we did.''
The Pride fall to 3-3 on the season and the Rattlers improve to 3-3.
The Pride's main face-off specialist, Andy Corno, left the game late in the first half when he re-aggravated a groin injury that kept him out of two games last season. On the first face-off of the second half, Joe Ghedina won the draw and came down the field only to have a hip flexor injury that forced his removal from the game as well.
"That was very unlucky,'' Jacobs said. "To have those guys go down really hurt us, no doubt about it. I thought Kyle Harrison did a very good job facing off, but we'll have to see how their injuries shape up.''
The Pride came out very strong, opening up an early 5-2 lead, but then were outscored 6-2 over the next 13:36 and never led again. Jesse Hubbard tied a career high with three assists, all in the first half. A.J. Haugen had his best game as a member of the Pride, scoring four goals, and teammate Adam Doneger had his fifth hat trick in the last five games. Liam Banks added a pair of goals for New Jersey.
"To get that kind of production from Adam and A.J. and not get much from the rest of the guys was disappointing,'' Jacobs said.
The Pride were hurt by the Bud Light Game MVP, Rochester goalie Mike Levin, who made 26 saves in goal. Rob Scherr was outstanding in goal for the Pride, making 20 saves.
The Rattlers also suffered an injury to midfielder A.J. Shannon, a former member of the Pride. Shannon injured his knee in the third quarter. John Grant Jr. led Rochester with four goals, and Brodie Merrill added a pair of goals including a 2-pointer. Seth Goldberg and Chris Unterstein added a pair each for Rochester.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from June 23, 2006
- Tim Goettelmann Leads Long Island To 9-6 Win Over Defending Champs - Chesapeake Bayhawks
- Offensive Woes Hurt Pride in Loss to Rattlers - New Jersey Pride
- Lizards Defense Dominates Bayhawks in 9-6 Victory - New York Lizards
- Riptide looking for first road win in team history - Los Angeles Riptide
- Barrage Battle In Bean Town - Philadelphia Barrage
- Cannons Battle Philly in Eastern Conference Showdown - Boston Cannons
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.
