Walters Scores Five; Nationals Down Bayhawks
from press release
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Toronto Nationals have regained their momentum as a thrilling back and forth battle with the Washington Bayhawks ended in a 17-15 victory. Despite a two-goal run by the Bayhawks in the final quarter that tied things up at 15 with just over four minutes to play, the Toronto Nationals came back yet again with a goal by Jordan Levine (2G) before the Bud Light MVP Joe Walters sealed the deal for the Nationals scoring his fifth goal of the night.
With the win, the Toronto Nationals advance to 3-1 while the
Bayhawks fall to 1-3 on the season.
The Washington Bayhawks opened things up big tonight in their
rematch against the Toronto Nationals. On a man-up opportunity with
just over one minute into play, Kevin
Huntley found attackman Kyle
Dixon(4G, 1-2pt goal) up top for a top corner goal and the
first goal of the night. Following Dixon's powerplay mark, the
Bayhawks struck again at 3:46 with a goal by Scott
Urick (2G) off another impressive play from Dixon for
the assist.
But, that wouldn't be enough for the Bayhawks who encounted the
powerhouse that is the Toronto attack. After trailing 2-0, the
Toronto Nationals fired in three unanswered goals, two of which
came from Merrick Thomson (3G), his
second ending in a dramatic dive goal. The other notch for Toronto
came from Walters less than five minutes after Thomson's first
tally. After another notch by Washington, the Nationals answered
with two more goals by Walters and Jordan
Hall (2G, 3A) respectively, outscoring the Bayhawks
5-3 in the first.
The uneven scoring in the first quarter would prove to be the
game's deciding factor as each remaining quarter turned out to be
an even matchup with four goals apiece from each team during every
period.
In the second quarter, rookie Danny
Glading (1G) from UVA got on the board to try and
turn the tides for the Bayhawks after a four-goal scoring run by
Toronto. Glading came around the net just like we saw him do in
college for a wrap around sniper goal that went right by
goalie Rob Scherr. Following Glading's first
career mark, Jed Prossner (3G) continued
to rebound with another unassisted mark just 20 seconds later. And
the scoring wouldn't end there as Kevin
Buchanan got on the board after an assist
by Spencer Ford to close the gap
7-6.
A slow start to the third quarter would change abruptly when a
10-7 Toronto advantage would dwindle with four unanswered goals
from the Bawhawk attack. Both Urick and Dixon struck again, Dixon
with two, as Kevin Huntley got on the board for his first
goal of the night. An 11-10 advantage for the Bayhawks would
not be enough to hold off the Nationals who answered back with
three.
Despite the loss, newcomers to the Washington
Bayhawks, Matt
Abbott and PT Ricci made
their debut alongside Danny Glading, each offering solid
performances on the field. Abbott, from Syracuse, was given the
duty of holding off Joe Walters in his opening game, which is no
easy task. Abbott picked up three ground balls on the night while
Ricci managed to pick up two of his own.
To view the box score, click here.
The Bayhawks will get their final chance at revenge next week
against the Toronto Nationals when the two meet
again Saturday, June 13 in Toronto
at BMO Field for a 7:00 PM
ET start.
