Philadelphia Outpowers Washington

Published on March 16, 2002 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Philadelphia Wings News Release


Wings Keep Playoff Hopes Alive with 12-11 Win

PHILADELPHIA - Chris Sanderson led the Wings in goal to help Philadelphia upset the first place Washington Power, 12-11, Saturday at the First Union Center in front of 13,717 fans. The win keeps the Wings in playoff contention with two games remaining. Sanderson replaced Eliuk midway through the game after he was injured by a shot. The team scored three goals in the final minutes of play in a late-game comeback. Bergey led Philadelphia with four goals, including the game winner. Chris Sanderson replaced Dallas Eliuk in goal midway through the game to earn the win.

"We really stuck with it for all 60 minutes," said Wings coach Adam Mueller. "I happy with the guys tonight. We could have fallen with Dallas went down, but we came back and chipped away. Sanderson is always ready as a backup. Tonight he slammed the door shut and made some great saves."

It was a physical first quarter, with both teams combining for seven penalties. Washington struck first on a goal by Del Halladay, but Philadelphia responded with two power play goals and a stronger defense. Jake Bergey put the Wings on the board with a shot from on top of the left crease line and Mark Millon gave Philadelphia the lead. Kevin Finneran assisted on both goals. Philadelphia outshot Washington, 15-9, in the quarter.

Washington fought back with three goals in the first three minutes of the second quarter. The first two goals, from former Wings star Gary Gait and Bobby Horsey, came on the power play. Bergey added his second goal before the Power took control once again. Paul Cantabene gave Washington a two-goal lead and Gary Gait added a goal while Philadelphia goalie Dallas Eliuk was down with an injury. Eliuk was replaced by Chris Sanderson, who allowed another goal by Gary Gait at the end of the quarter. Jeff Ratcliffe brought the Wings within three in the last 10 seconds of the period with Sanderson pulled from the goal.

Washington increased its lead to four with a goal 20 seconds into the third quarter, but Philadelphia took advantage of two penalties by Kip Fulks to add two more power play goals. Bergey completed the hat trick and Finneran scored his first of the game. The Power rounded out the scoring with a Halladay goal to take a three-point lead into the final quarter.

The Wings scored three goals in the final three minutes of play to overcome the deficit and earn the win. Ratcliffe completed the hat trick with two goals in the final quarter. Finneran, Tom Ryan, Mark Millon and Bergey also scored for Philadelphia in the quarter. Bergey's winning goal came with a minute and eight seconds left in regulation.

Jake Bergey led the Wings in scoring with four points (4G). Four other players scored goals for Philadelphia, including Mark Millon (2G,2A), Kevin Finneran (2G,5A) , Tom Ryan (1G) and Jeff Ratcliffe (3G).

Gary Gait led the Power in scoring with four points (4G). Six other players scored for Washington, including Del Halladay (2G,2A), Josh Sims (1G), Paul Cantabene (1G,2A), Bobby Horsey (1G), Paul Gait (1G,2A) and Jeff Wills (1G,2A).

UPCOMING GAMES: The Philadelphia Wings round out the regular season with two games against the Toronto Rock. The Wings travel to Toronto on March 22 before returning to Philadelphia to host the Rock on March 23. Individual tickets are on sale now at the box office and all Ticketmaster outlets throughout the Delaware Valley. Pro-rated Wings season tickets are available at (215) 389-WINGS.

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National Lacrosse League Stories from March 16, 2002


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