Featured Image Photo Credit:
Pretty Instant, Joe Maiorana
Justin Ivey, MLL Correspondent & Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome
Saturday night saw the Ohio Machine (9-4) clinch a playoff berth and a home semifinal game as one of the top two teams in the standings. The New York Lizards (6-7), who are expected to make the playoffs as well once the tiebreakers sort themselves out, got into an early hole they could never crawl out of. Ohio found control in the first and third, to put runs together that were too much for the high-powered Lizards. Final Score: Ohio 21—New York 14.
Ohio got on the board first, and went on to score three unanswered to open the game. The first goal came on a textbook fast break opportunity as the cleared ball was moved quickly. Mark Cockerton (4G, 1A) fed the cross-crease pass to Connor Cannizzaro (5G) to get the goalie moving. Cannizzaro easily finished. Cockerton scored the next goal, dodging down the side to get space on his defender and letting loose a great bounce shot. On the next possession, Ohio won the faceoff towards their defensive end, cleared the ball and settled. Peter Baum (5G, 1A) got his first of the evening on a left hand rip off a pick up high. With 6:54 left in the opening quarter, Ohio held a three-goal lead. New York finally got on the board 9:21 in as Tommy Palasek (3G) was able to beat goalie Kyle Bernlohr. Ohio answered with another three-goal run. Marcus Holman (3G, 2A); Baum; and Cockerton all found twine to give Ohio a massive lead going into the second quarter. At the end of one, Ohio led New York 6-1.
The Machine made it a four-goal run to open the second as Bryan Cole (1G) scored the first of the quarter. Cole pushed his way towards the cage and dove over the crease to bury the shot. Joe Walters (3G, 2A) quickly got the goal back for the Lizards, scoring on the next possession cutting across the slot and catching a pass from behind for the one-timer. Ohio would not let them gain momentum, as Baum found the net for the third time in the half. Finally, New York would put together a run, although it was only two goals. Rob Pannell (2G, 3A) scored on the power play, followed by an unassisted goal from Kevin Unterstein (1G). The deficit was cut to just four goals with 5:32 left in the half. Who else would answer but Baum, and this time with a two pointer, to get both Lizards’ goals back and wipe the run. No one picked him up standing on the two-point line, and he let it rip through traffic. New York would get the last of the half with Pannell getting his second of the quarter. At the half, Ohio led New York 10-5.
The third quarter started with another Ohio run. This time it was five unanswered covering the first 8:06. New York had a strong second and seemed to be finding their groove, but Ohio just came out unstoppable. Cockerton scored the first and last goal of the run. Cannizzaro had the second. The middle goal was a beautiful behind the back goal from Holman, letting it fly over his right shoulder just as a double team arrived. The fourth goal was a laser from Kyle Harrison (2G) on the powerplay from just inside the two-point line. Walters would temporarily stop the onslaught scoring his second of the game, but again Baum answered just 37 seconds later to bring the score to 16-6. New York, feeling the pressure, closed the quarter with two more goals. The first came right after the ensuing faceoff, as Greg Gurenlian (1G) raced in and let go an underhand roller. The second was Walters with 56 seconds remaining. At the end of three, Ohio still had a commanding lead over New York, 16-8.
Walters continued to be a significant factor in the fourth, throwing a beautiful assist to Palasek over the defense for the easy quick stick goal, and cutting the deficit to seven just 1:31 into the final quarter. Cannizzaro, continuing his career night, netted the next two. The first was partially saved but dribbled in, and the second was the product of a sweet behind the back pass from Holman. Ohio now had a nine-goal lead, but New York wasn’t done in their comeback attempt. Will Manny (2G, 1A), who had been kept in check for the first three quarters, finally found the net, but 46 seconds later, Harrison rolled, switched hands and scored again for Ohio. With the power play opportunity, Manny again found twine, catching the end pass of a tic tac toe, with his toes on the crease. Palasek scored next, picking up a long rebound and finding space just inside the two-point line. On a roll, New York was mounting a furious comeback. The icing on the cake came with a two-pointer from Joe LoCascio (1G) after textbook perimeter passing to find space. With 5:19 remaining, New York was down 19-14 with momentum on their side. That would be the end of that feeling though, as Ohio managed to limit possessions and bury two more to seal the game. Cannizzaro curled from behind the net for an easy goal, and Holman through one on net during a power play to bring the game to a close. Final Score: Ohio 21—New York 14.
UP NEXT:
The New York Lizards host the Charlotte Hounds on Saturday August 5.
The Ohio Machine travel to face the Rochester Rattlers on Saturday, August 5.
Justin Ivey, MLL Correspondent & Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome