Riptide Dominate Second Half to Beat Seals 10-8
February 11, 2024 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
New York Riptide News Release
On Saturday night, February 10th, The New York Riptide staged one of the best comebacks in team history. Despite facing a 7-2 halftime deficit against the San Diego Seals, the Riptide mustered a truly dominant performance in the second half, outscoring their opponents 8-1 in the final two quarters. Notably, Cameron Dunkerley delivered a standout performance, arguably one of the best of his career, as he neutralized the Seals' offense in the closing 30 minutes. The team's recent success has been evident, having won four consecutive games and five of their last six, and currently holding one of the coveted playoff spots after nine games played, with another nine to go. The Seals will head home for their next contest, against the Georgia Swarm, as they are still in great position to make the playoffs at 6-3.
The start of this game was all about goalie play, as Cameron Dunkerley and Chris Origlieri began the game, limiting both offenses well. Mitch Wilde scored the first goal of the game for the Riptide six minutes into the game but was the only Riptide goal for 18 minutes until Jeff Teat scored his first of the game with a feed from Damon Edwards to get the Riptide back on the board. The Seals got on the board twice in the first quarter after Dane Dobbie netted his only goal of the game on the powerplay before Austin Staats beat the quarter buzzer, scoring with two seconds to go in the opening stanza
In the second quarter of the game, the Seals demonstrated their dominance by scoring five goals and allowing only one goal from the Riptide. This impressive performance gave them a comfortable lead of five goals at halftime. As the second half began, Connor Kearnan scored a goal, followed by Kiel Matisz's seventh powerplay goal of the season, which placed him second in the NLL, just behind Robert Church. With eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, Austin Staats scored the last goal for the Seals before Jeff Teat and the Riptide began their impressive 6-0 run to end the game. During the six-goal run, Teat played a crucial part in every goal, scoring three himself and assisting on the other three.
The Riptide scored five goals in the final 5:28 of the game to walk out of Long Island triumphant once again. This win marks the first time in team history the Riptide are over .500. With his goal In the fourth quarter, Reilly O'Connor reached 400 points in his NLL career along, with Jeff Teat, who reached 300 career points in this game as well.
Coach Dan Ladouceur was thrilled with his team's tenacious performance in the second half, and the way the Riptide fought back from a large deficit at halftime. "That was an incredible win. Everyone talks about character wins, and that truly was one. We made a few adjustments at half, but we talked mostly about character." The Riptide will now return to action when they travel to Montreal to play the Toronto Rock during the Unboxed Series on February 16th. The Seals will have a week off to ponder the loss and improve upon it before welcoming the Georgia Swarm to San Diego on February 23rd.
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National Lacrosse League Stories from February 11, 2024
- Riptide Dominate Second Half to Beat Seals 10-8 - New York Riptide
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