Riptide earn first victory in club history with 17-6 win over Chicago
June 17, 2006 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Los Angeles Riptide News Release
CARSON, CA (Saturday, June 17, 2006) - The Los Angeles Riptide won the first ever game in club history, using a five-goal performance by Kevin Dougherty to defeat the Chicago Machine 17-6 and claim the inaugural win for the club at The Home Depot Center Track and Field Complex.
The Riptide (1-3) rallied from a 1-0 deficit early on as Dougherty scored his first goal of the game with 3:08 remaining in the first quarter to tie things up. Michael Watson then found the back of the net with just 12 seconds remaining in the opening quarter to give Los Angeles a 2-1 lead that it would never relinquish.
Tillman Johnson was stellar in goal for the Riptide, recording seven saves before giving way to Matt Vallone in the fourth quarter. The L.A. defense clamped down on Chicago (0-4) in the second quarter, allowing just two goals as Stephen Brundage and Kevin Leveille would score for the Machine. The Riptide continued to pull away, as Watson scored his second goal of the game at the 12:24 mark of the second, and then Sean Hartofilis broke a 3-3 tie with a goal at the 8:58 mark. Sean Lindsay powered in two straight goals to extend the L.A. lead to 6-3, and then Andrew "Buggsy" Combs, in his debut with the Riptide, scored off a fast break with 3:44 remaining in the half to push the Los Angeles lead to 7-3 at halftime.
L.A. maintained the defensive intensity into the third quarter, limiting Chicago to just one goal as Brundage scored again with 9:10 remaining. His goal made it 9-4, but then Dougherty registered his third tally of the game at the 6:48 mark to push the Riptide lead to 11-4.
Combs netted his second career Riptide goal just two minutes into the fourth quarter to make it 12-4, and the rout was on as Los Angeles did not let up on the Machine in search of its first victory ever.
Riptide leading scorer Brian Nee added two goals in the game, scoring his second with 13:00 minutes remaining in the game. After a nearly ten-minute scoreless period, Hartofilis netted his second goal of the game, and then Dougherty made his night complete by ripping the first two-point goal in team history when he whipped a shot from outside the left side of the two-point arc and past the Machine goalkeeper for a 16-5 Riptide lead.
Nicholas Schmidt scored his fourth goal of the season as L.A. put the finishing touches on the historic first win in Riptide history. The Machine added a final goal with 1:45 remaining in the game on a Doug Shanahan goal for the final 17-6 score line.
The Riptide faces the Chicago Machine again next Saturday, June 24 at 4:00 p.m. PT in Chicago.
• Discuss this story on the Major League Lacrosse message board...
Major League Lacrosse Stories from June 17, 2006
- Cannons Down Dragons - San Francisco Dragons
- Cannons Earn Comeback Win in Front of Record Crowd - Boston Cannons
- Hubbard Nets 200th Career Goal, But Pride Fall to Outlaws - New Jersey Pride
- Outlaws outlast Pride - Denver Outlaws
- Riptide earn first victory in club history with 17-6 win over Chicago - Los Angeles Riptide
- Machine Taken Under by the Riptide - Chicago Machine
- Lizards Fumble 8-0 First Half Lead, Fall to Barrage 13-12 - New York Lizards
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.
