Huntley Lifts Bayhawks with OT Snipe
from press releases
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The Bayhawks trailed late
at Long Island Thursday night, but never lost their composure. Kyle
Dixon tied the game with 24 seconds left in regulation, and Kevin
Huntley added the game winner 1:25 into overtime to give the
Bayhawks their first win of the 2009 and even their record at 1-1.
Huntley was named the Bud Light Game MVP with three goals and one
assist.
"We showed a lot of poise down the stretch," said Bayhawks Head
Coach John Tucker. "The Lizards didn't make it easy for us to score
in the second half, but Kyle and Kevin came up big with the game on
the line."
The Bayhawks face-off specialist Alex Smith (17 of 30) won the
overtime face-off, but the Bayhawks could not convert on their
first possession of the extra session. Long Island came down the
field, but a mental error found them with seven players on the
offensive end, and the Bayhawks regained possession. Dixon's pass
to Huntley in the high slot sealed the game for the Bayhawks.
"They're a very good team defensively," Huntley said following the
game. "They have one of the best goalies in the league, but we were
just one goal better tonight. Give them a lot of credit. They made
us work for every goal all game long."
The Bayhawks jumped out to an early lead as Kevin Buchanan scored
his second goal of the season. The Bayhawks appeared to take a two
goal lead, but Billy Glading's shot was waved off for a crease
violation. The Lizards stormed back with four straight unanswered
goals before Bayhawks Goalie Chris Garrity turned the quarter
around with big save on a Matt Danowski shot from the top of the
crease.
Scott Urick broke the scoring drought for the Bayhawks beating
Lizards Goalie Brian Dougherty to the short side. The Bayhawks kept
the momentum going as Smith heated up in his faceoff battle against
Peter Vlahakis, and Hunter Lochte and Dixon both scored to tie the
game at 4-4 as the quarter closed.
"I thought we came out a little slow, but we picked up the pace as
the game went on," Tucker added. "We were a little sloppy with our
passes at times, and we didn't control our offensive possessions as
well as I hoped. I like the improvements from last week. We're
going to work hard in practice to get ready for Denver."
After Long Island's Chris Fiore opened the second quarter's
scoring, the Bayhawks tallied three unanswered goals to regain the
lead. Brian Vetter, who made the Bayhawks roster through the annual
Open Tryout, faked a shot and fed the ball to Spencer Ford at the
top of the crease for his first goal as a Bayhawk.
Paul Richards buried a shot in the back of the net from inside the
two-point arc, and Glading converted a shot as he was hit hard by
two defenders. Long Island finally responded on the next possession
as Blake Miller and Danowski combined for the goal pulling the
Lizards within one. With time expiring in the half, Huntley scored
giving the Bayhawks an 8-6 lead heading into the locker rooms.
The Bayhawks and Lizards traded goals twice to start the third
quarter to make the score 10-8. Bayhawks Midfielder Dan Chemotti
went down with an injury near midfield midway through the third
quarter. He did not return in the game. Short a man, Garrity made a
pair of big saves for the Bayhawks to slow the Lizards attack.
With Danowski cutting across the crease, Garrity came out and made
the hit as Danowski shot, deflecting the ball to the corner. Only
15 seconds later, Garrity made a right leg kick-save on a far-post
shot. However the pair of saves were not enough for the Bayhawks as
Stephen Berger fed Fiore for the Lizards ninth goal and making the
score 10-9 at the end of three.
The Lizards continued pressing the attack with three more goals and
their second four goal run of the game. Dixon finally quieted the
Long Island offense with a goal at the 7:17 mark. After Urick's
goal tied the score at 12 apiece, both teams played a conservative
attack. Long Island took the lead with just under 2 minutes to
play. Dixon's unassisted goal with under 30 seconds left forced the
overtime.
The win gave Garrity his 34th career win breaking the tie with
former Bayhawk Trevor Tierney for third all-time in MLL history.
Lizards goalie Brian Dougherty holds the record with 47. It also
snapped a seven game losing streak for Garrity dating back to the
2008 season.
