Marcelo A. Sagüez, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: Kyle Hess
The Georgia swarm (5-2) had just come off a two game losing streak and changed directions defeating the defending NLL champions (2-3) Saskatchewan Rush 13-10 on Sunday January 27. One of the few times you will see all the Thompson’s (Lyle, Miles, Jerome and Jeremy) on the floor at once.
A dominant first quarter for the Swarm led them to a five nothing score over the Rush. (4) Lyle Thompson opened the scoring for the Swarm, creating the momentum for healthy lead. Half way through the first Saskatchewan’s starting goaltender Evan Kirk was taken out of the game. Back up keeper Adam Shute took the pipes for the remainder of the game.
“Anytime you lose two, you want to win,” Swarm head coach Ed Comeau said. “You want to win at home, and I think for our group, we know that team (Saskatchewan) down there is a championship-caliber team, and I think we were up for that, and we were also up because we had lost two.”
Not counting the Rush out, over nine minutes into the first quarter (42) Mark Matthews put one in from the point over (30) Mike Poulin’s shoulder to get the Rush on the board. Over the course of the night, Matthews collected a hat trick for his efforts. Teammate (77) Jeff Shattler finished the night with a seven points (2G, 5A).
A cold first quarter for Swarm net minder (30) Poulin making 21 saves in the first half, with only three in the first and the remainder in the second, as a result taking a six one lead into the locker room.
The Rush didn’t score for over 19 minutes until Shattler’s goal making it 7-2 Swarm heading into the half.
Mounting a comeback the Rush down 8-2, gained some momentum for a comeback. (32) Matthew Dinsdale put one in on the off side of the floor and a more settled pace for the Swarm with a comfortable five goal lead rounding off the third (10-5).
A determined Saskatchewan team mounted a short lived comeback early in the fourth, (42) Matthews scoring one of two Rush back to back goals. With seven minutes in the fourth the Rush climbed to within two and it was as close as they had gotten since the first quarter.
Regulation time and the ball bounces were not in favor of the Rush on this matinee game. The empty netter by Georgia’s (13) Connor Sellars was the final nail in the coffin. Final Score: Georgia 13—Saskatchewan 10.
UP NEXT:
Saskatchewan (3-2) heads east to face the Red Hot Toronto Rock (5-1) on Friday February 1, game time 7:30 p.m. EST.
Georgia gets set for a double-header weekend, the first at home against the New England Black Wolves (3-2) on Friday February 1, game time 7:35 p.m. EST; and then they head up to Rochester to face the Knighthawks (2-3) on Saturday February 2, game time 7:00 p.m. EST.
Marcelo A. Sagüez, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©