Streaking Lizards Bounce Rochester from MLL Playoff Race
from press releases
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Stephen Peyser tied an MLL single-game record by scoring three two-point goals in Long Island's 15-7 win over the Rattlers Thursday night. ©Greg Francis |
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - Long Island opened on a 9-0 run and ended Rochester’s playoff hopes with a 15-7 victory over the Rattlers on Thursday night at Hofstra University. Both teams entered the game on two game winning streaks, but hat tricks from Matt Danowski and Stephen Peyser were more than enough for Lizards.
Peyser tied a Major League Lacrosse single-game record by scoring three two-point goals and added an assist. He is the seventh player in MLL history to record three two-point goals in a game and the first player to accomplish the feat since Danowski did against Chicago on July 10, 2010.
Long Island opened the scoring on a goal by Danowski 5:47 into
the first quarter. Less than a minute later Peyser scored a
two-point goal off an assist from John Grant, Jr. to give the
Lizards a 3-0 lead.
Tim Goettelmann continued Long Island’s scoring run with a
goal from Peyser with 6:30 left in the first quarter.
Stehen Berger scored unassisted for the Lizards with just under
three minutes in the quarter before Danowski scored his second goal
of the quarter, this time a two-point marker, unassisted with
twenty seconds left. Long Island led the Rattlers 7-0 after
the first quarter. It was the second time that the
Rattlers had been shut out by Long Island in the first quarter this
season.
The Lizards struck two more times in the second quarter to run
their lead to 9-0. Goettelmann scored his second goal of the game
1:31 into the second quarter and Grant opened his scoring account
about four minutes later to finish the Lizards opening run.
Grant Catalino finally opened the scoring for Rochester on a
two-point power play goal from Ned Crotty with 2:11 seconds left in
the first half.
Long Island outshot Rochester 17-11 in the first half. They
also had a two to one (22-11) advantage in ground balls and a six
to four advantage in faceoffs that resulted in 13 extra first half
possessions. Rattlers rookie goalie John Galloway did his best to
keep the team in the game with ten first half saves on 17 shots
faced.
The Rattlers Matt Striebel opened the second half with a two-point
power play goal 1:25 seconds into the third quarter to cut the
Lizards lead to 9-4. The goal was Striebel’s tenth of
the season. The Rattlers run continued with 7:44 left in the
third quarter when middie Jovan Miller found Striebel for his
second goal of the quarter.
The Lizards put an end to the Rattlers five to zero run when
Rochester defensive middie Dan Groot took a one minute penalty for
a high hit. Peyser capitalized on the power play with a two-point
goal from Grant with 2:03 left in the third quarter. Long Island
led 11 to 6 at the end of the third quarter.
Berger opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with his second
goal of the game to extend the Lizards lead to 12 to 6 1:12 in.
Matt Danowski completed his hat trick with 7:38 left in the game to
extend the Lizards lead to 13-6.
Rattlers star Ned Crotty ended the Lizards four to zero run with a
spectacular airborne goal less than a minute later. It was
Crotty’s 22nd goal on the 2011 season.
Peyser added some insurance for the Lizards by completing his hat
trick with a two point marker with just 3:18 left in the game to
extend Long Island’s 15-7 lead over the Rattlers.
The Lizards have won three straight games, and are now 5-5.
Crotty finished the game with one goal and two assists for three
points for the Rattlers. Rochester lost their two game
winning streak, but Tim Soudan still has his team at 2-2 after
taking over an 0-6 squad from BJ O’Hara.
“I think our first few possessions we had some quality
opportunities, but they finished theirs and we didn’t finish
ours. We came out a little flat in the beginning and
struggled with our team defense at the beginning.” Soudan
said.
The Rattlers are home at Sahlen’s Stadium in Rochester, New
York on Aug. 6 against the Chesapeake Bayhawks. The Rattlers
will be raffling off their game worn jerseys with the proceeds
going to Hillside Charity. For tickets call 585.454.5425 or
visit ticketmaster.com.
