Buzzer-Beating Deuce Lifts Machine over Nats
by Redmond Zmudzien | majorleaguelacrosse.com
TORONTO -- If Chesapeake’s Kyle Dixon is
the Reggie Miller of lacrosse (for his dominance shooting from
behind the two point arc) then Chicago’s Brett Garber is Kobe
Bryant.
The Toronto Nationals were in line to get their first win of the
season, but suffered a heart-breaking, last-second, 14-13 loss to
the Machine on Saturday night.
Leading 13-12 with just over 30 seconds remaining in the game,
all the Nationals had to do was play keep away to earn their first
victory. It was not meant to be though, as a Nationals
midfielder turned the ball over in the Chicago zone with 12 seconds
remaining.
Chicago midfielder Matt Striebel scooped the ball up and sprinted
to the Nationals cage and ripped a shot that sailed high over the
net. Luckily for the Machine, they beat Toronto to the end
line and retained possession with one second left on the
clock. After much jockeying from Chicago head coach B.J.
O’Hara though the referees discussed it and corrected the
game clock to leave three seconds remaining. The Machine
called a timeout as they tried to draw up some sort of desperate,
last second play.
Chicago started the reset at goal line extended to the right side
of the cage. As soon as the whistle blew the Chicago player
found midfielder Brett Garber inexplicably open at the top right,
behind the two point arc. Garber caught the pass, took a
couple of shuffle steps, wound up and unloaded a shot from behind
the arc just before time expired. Toronto goalie Brett
Queener couldn’t find the ball until it was too late
though. The ball found the back of the net and Chicago
completed their unlikely comeback with an unbelievably rare buzzer
beater, two point goal for the win.
Queener was in shock after the goal as Machine players jumped
around in elation. The Nationals, stunned by the last second
loss, walked somberly around the field as they watched their season
continue to slip away as they fell to 0-4 on the
season.
The Nationals started out hot, jumping out to a 6-3 lead by goals
from John Grant Jr., Dan Dawson and Jordan Hill among others.
The Machine, who improved to 3-1 and are currently tied for first
place, fought back though and quickly erased the lead. The
rest of the game was like a heavyweight boxing match as the two
exchanged blow after blow, until Chicago delivered the knockout as
time ran out. At one point, spanning from the second to the
third quarter, the Machine scored five unanswered goals.
Toronto lead by one as late as 1:33 remaining in the game, but
Chicago never gave up and the Nationals several costly mistakes
finally caught up with them. As Toronto head coach Dave
Huntley preached all week and before the game on Saturday,
possession was key and his team needed to limit the
opposition’s possessions if they wanted to win.
However, the Nats turned the ball over all night with errant passes
and other miscommunications. When the time came for the
Nationals to hold onto the ball and seal the deal, another turnover
killed their chances as the Machine capitalized on yet another
mistake.
Now sitting at 0-4 and dead last in the league, the Nationals have
to decide which direction they want to go in at the Collegiate
Draft on Sunday June 6. This loss may or may not affect their
draft strategy, but one thing is clear; Brett Queener’s job
is safe. On Saturday the Nationals went against their modus
operandi of having Doc Schneider start the first half in cage and
putting Queener in to close it out. Queener, who played a
fine game with 19 saves including six in the final frame, started
the game and played the entire four quarters. It is unclear
whether Schneider suffered an injury or if his job is on the hot
seat, but questions will be abuzz this week. Especially with
stud Notre Dame goalie Scott Rodgers, a top draft prospect, waiting
for his shot at the MLL, whom Toronto GM Stu Brown said his team
would pounce on if given the opportunity. Whether the Nats
will continue to keep Queener in for entire games (something he
hasn’t done since college) or if the team will look to
continue the Schneider platoon/find a new name to pair him with; it
is something to keep an eye on during Sunday’s draft.
After winning the MLL Championship last year, the Nationals are in
unfamiliar territory at 0-4 and could soon be out of the playoff
race if they don’t experience a turnaround next
weekend. Perhaps the draft and the youth it will bring to
this Toronto team will provide the spark needed to get this team
out of neutral. Whether the Nationals will recover from this
devastating loss remains to be seen, but one thing is clear; time
is slowly ticking down on their season.
