Greer's Fifth Leads Lizards over Machine in OT
from press release
The fireworks came early this Fourth of July weekend, as the
Long Island Lizards claimed their third victory of the season in
thrilling fashion by beating the Chicago Machine 13-12 in overtime.
After Chris Rotelli tied the game for the Machine with three
seconds left in regulation, Zack Greer scored his fifth goal of the
game and brought the 2,876 Lizards faithful in attendance to their
feet.
The temperature climbed near 100 degrees on the turf, but that
didnt't even come close to how hot Zack Greer has been lately.
Greer has tallied 17 goals this season, but 11 of those have come
in the last two weeks. He now leads the team in goals and his
strong effort on Saturday earned him Bud Light MVP honors.
Despite the late game excitement, this contest started out slow as
each side played cautiously early on. The Machine opened up the
scoring after Mike Leveille picked up a deflection and distributed
the ball to a wide open Stephen Bauer who was able to beat Lizards
goalie Drew Adams from point blank range.
Matt Danowski responded two minutes later after slashing in from
behind the goal and firing a low shot past Machine goalie Bud
Petit. Later on in the period, Josh Sims would beat Adams with a
blistering shot from just inside the two point arc to get the lead
back for the Machine. Stephen Peyser would close out the first
quarter with his seventh goal of the season as he cut in down the
left side of the defense and unleashed a shot into the back of the
net.
The Machine began to pull ahead in the second quarter as Mike
Leveille was fed nicely in the middle of the zone by Ned Crotty and
fired a shot between the legs of Adams. There was a bit of
uncertainty if the ball had gone it at first, but the refs
ultimately decided the goal would stand. Parker McKee would then
welcome himself to the MLL party by scoring his first professional
goal after a nice run from the defensive end. However, Jordan
Levine and Matt Striebel wouldn't let McKee soak up his glory for
long as they each scored in quick succession for the away team.
Matt Danowski would add a goal late in the half with an another
impressive run from behind the net. This time he fought through
contact and got himself horizontal in order to fling an unstoppable
shot into the lower corner of the net. Doug Shanahan would come
streaking into the Lizards zone late in the half and unload a
quick, top corner shot giving the Machine a two goal lead just
before the break.
The deficit could have been much worse if it weren't for the
brilliant goalkeeping of Drew Adams in the first half. The Lizards
were outshot 29-16 in the half but remained in the game due to the
quick reflexes of Adams. He recorded 15 saves for the game against
just eleven goals. The Lizards are now 3-1 when Adams records more
than 12 saves and holds the opposing team to less than 12
points.
Tim Goettelmann opened up the third quarter with his signature
wrap around from behind the net as he muscles past defenders to
send the ball into the top of the net. "The Monster" is now getting
a new nickname around the Lizards organization, "Mr. Consistency,"
as he's scored at least one goal in the last seven games he's
played. Greer would then add his first goal of the game to tie the
score as he completed a quick catch and shoot on a pass from
Goettelmann.
Sims would break the tie for the Machine by sneaking in from
behind the net and delivering a shot from just in front of goal.
Kevin Leveille would then add a goal in the final seconds of the
quarter to put extend the lead to two goals heading into the
fourth.
Nicky Polanco and Brian Spallina began mixing it up in the third
quarter as they did their best Bash Brother impression by knocking
some Machine attackmen off a loose ball. The Lizards defense played
aggressive but under greater control after getting whistled for 12
penalty minutes last week against Boston. The Lizards only gave up
two power plays against the Machine and killed off both of them
thanks to the tenacity of their defense.
Early in the fourth quarter the Lizards saw their playoff chances
slipping away as Shanahan rifled in a two point goal followed by an
excellent scoop and score from Mike Leveille. The goals gave the
Machine a 10-7 lead and an apparent stranglehold on the
outcome.
When things appeared bleakest, Zack Greer put on his cape and went
to work for the Lizards getting four of his goals in the fourth
quarter and overtime. The first would come as Greer set up on the
left side biding his time before eventually getting a feed from
Stephen Berger and quickly releasing a left-handed shot past Petit
on the short side. Then Chris Fiore, who may be New York's best
outside shooter since John Starks, fired in his third two-point
goal of the season and quickly pulled the Lizards back within
one.
The late game run was spurred on by Peter Vlahakis who won 14 of
25 faceoffs on the day to keep the Lizards in control of the ball.
Without Greg Gurenlian in the lineup, the Lizards were fortunate to
turn to a man who has attempted the third most faceoffs in MLL
history.
Greer would tie the game with five minutes remaining by once again
setting up in his comfort zone, just to the right of the goal, and
would rapidly fire a Stephen Peyser pass into the top corner of the
goal. After a quick timeout, Goettelmann would find Greer cutting
into the middle of the Machine defense and set him up for another
left-handed shot into the top of the netting. The furious 5-0 run
would put the Lizards on top and in control of the game.
The Machine weren't done however and began pressuring the Lizards
defense. Polanco and company would come up big and deny the Chicago
attack in what appeared to be the biggest possession of the season
so far, but an inexcusable failure to advance penalty would give
the ball right back to the Machine. The Machine would get a
miraculous goal from Chris Rotelli who used a Crotty pass to tie
the game up with three seconds remaining.
The overtime period would last less than two minutes as Zack Greer
would finish off his incredible day with yet another unbelievable
goal. This time Danowski would fight his way into the middle with
some evasive dodges and fed Greer who had his back to the goal. He
would spin quickly to the inside and fire a blind shot into the top
of the netting allowing the Lizards to finally celebrate.
The Machine have never beaten the Lizards, as they fall to 0-5
lifetime against the Long Island squad, but it isn't for lack of
trying. Saturday's game marks the second time this year the Lizards
have topped the Machine 13-12 in overtime. On June 12, Matt
Danowski led the Lizards with five goals and Tim Goettelmann
finished off the game in the extra session with his MLL record 13th
game-winning goal of his career.
The Lizards will face Chicago once again next Saturday night at
7:00 pm in Columbus, Ohio. Then the Lizards return home for a
Thursday night showdown with the Chesepeake Bayhawks on July 22nd
at Hofstra University. The Lizards are now 3-5 and just a game out
of the playoffs going into the final four games of the season.
