Rattlers fall to Pride, drop second straight
June 14, 2008 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Dallas Rattlers News Release
(Rochester, NY)... The Rochester Rattlers dropped their second straight contest with a 16-12 loss to the last place New Jersey Pride to earn its first win of the season. Despite the loss, the Rattlers remain tied for first in the Eastern Conference after Washington's 15-11 loss to Long Island Lizards.
John Grant led the Rattlers with three goals and one assist, while Brett Bucktooth chipped in with a pair of goals and assists on the night. Goaltender Mike Levin took the loss with 9 saves, 15 goals against, and only 51:27 minutes played, before being relieved by rookie goaltender Adam Fullerton early in the fourth quarter. Fullerton completed his professional debut with two saves and one goal against.
New Jersey was led by rookie Matt Danowski with two goals and three assists to earn Bud Light MVP Player of the Game honors. The Pride's Merrick Thomson and Greg Peyser each scored four goals. Pride goaltender Rob Scherr had 24 saves to earn his first win of the season.
Rochester opened the scoring early on the first shot of the game, just 13 seconds into the contest, as MLL all-time points leader Casey Powell found the back of the net for the Rochester Rattlers. Bucktooth gave the Rattlers a 2-0 lead, but Matthew Rewkowski of the Pride quickly answered to cut the lead 2-1. The Rattlers extended their lead to 3-1 at 9:45, but the Pride rallied for two goals to tie the game at 3-3 at the end of the first quarter.
League-point leader Grant gave the Rattlers a 4-3 lead at 2:09 of the second with an unassisted goal. New Jersey then answered with two goals to take their first lead of the game 5-4. After tying the game up with a goal by Joe Walters, the Rattlers scored two more and ended the first half up 7-5.
New Jersey stunned the Rattlers with the first four goals of the third to take their second lead of the night at 9-7. Grant scored his third to cut the lead 9-8, but a Bucktooth goal tied the game again at 9-9.
The Pride quickly responded with five goals in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to give them the 14-9 lead, with Thompson scoring three in that five-goal span. Greg Peyser, one of three Peyser brothers on the Pride lineup, then scored shorthanded for his fourth of the night, to extend the Pride lead to 15-9. Despite a three-goal by Rochester, the Pride kept the lead for the rest of the game and added one more to hand the Rattlers their second loss of the season.
The Rochester Rattlers play the Philadelphia Barrage on Saturday, June 21st in Cary, NC. The contest will be televised live on Time Warner Cable SportsNet. The Rattlers will hold a Viewing Party at The Distillery (3010 Winton Road South). The game also will be broadcast live on WYSL 1040-AM and wysl1040.com.
The Rochester Rattlers return home on Saturday, June 28th at 7:30 p.m. as they host the Los Angeles Riptide at PAETEC Park. The game is a rematch of the 2007 MLL Semifinals, which was won by LA 15-14 last August. The first 1,000 fans will receive a Brodie Merrill player card, courtesy of Bud Light. Fans can arrive early and enjoy the pregame party with live music from Shelflyfe. After the game, the Rattlers' official postgame party will be held at The Distillery at 1142 Mt. Hope Ave.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from June 14, 2008
- Dragons drop to Denver - San Francisco Dragons
- Outlaws slay Dragons, 19-16 - Denver Outlaws
- Rattlers fall to Pride, drop second straight - Dallas Rattlers
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