Justin Ivey, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
The forecast in Connecticut on Saturday was 3-6” of snow. Fans still turned up to see the undefeated New England Black Wolves (4-0) host the Philadelphia Wings (3-2) for rivalry night. The 4,084 fans were not disappointed and witnessed some of the best lacrosse played so far this year. In the Black Wolves last action, three weeks ago, they treated the home crowd to a barrage of goals, 21 to be exact. The Wings had a similar offensive outburst in their last game, putting up 18 at home. With first place in the East Division going to the winner, the defenses and goalies were the difference this week. The game was low scoring and no goals were easy to come by. The even match needed extra time to be decided. Knotted at 7-7 going into extra time, Callum Crawford (3G) ended up the hero scoring a diving goal 3:47 into overtime to keep the Black Wolves undefeated. Final Score: Philadelphia-7, New England-8.
The Black Wolves rewarded the fans who showed up in the snow with the first goal of the game. Stephan Leblanc (1G, 3A) caught a cross crease pass from Dave Emala (1A) and beat the sliding Zach Higgins in net just over four minutes in. Philadelphia answered just under three minutes later, as Anthony Joaquim (1G) scored in a transition three on one. Defenses started hitting hard and pushing the offense to the outside. The few passes that made it inside over the next few minutes of play were guided for the goalies to make easy stops. After five minutes of scoreless lacrosse, Crawford found the back of the net and the Black Wolves were in control again. The quarter ended with more great defensive play and the first quarter ended with New England leading Philadelphia 2-1.
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Philadelphia controlled the second quarter offensively and defensively. Kevin Crowley (1G, 2A) started it off with a goal 4:13 in, and less than a minute later Alex Pace (1G) fired a laser from the top middle in an unsettled transition situation and the ball squeaked pass goalie Doug Jamieson. The Black Wolves were finding opportunities, but the ball just wasn’t hitting the net. Blaze Riorden (1G, 1A) scored with 3:51 left, and Matt Rambo (3G) made it four unanswered finding the net with 33 seconds on the clock. At the half, Philadelphia led New England 5-2.
New England came out on a mission to start the second half putting up two goals in the first four minutes. Crawford started the run 2:28 in and Joe Resetarits (2G) scored the second just under a minute and a half later. Tony Malcolm (1G, 1A) tied the game in transition off an assist from Greg Downing (1A) with nine minutes remaining. Rambo gave Philadelphia the lead back on a second effort possession. He fired his shot over two defenders and a pick making it difficult for Jamieson to see. Just over a minute later, Reilly O’Connor (1G, 1A) caught a beautiful pass from Leblanc on the crease and shot faked until he had an opening to tie the game again. But the Black Wolves couldn’t turn it into momentum. The Wing’s defense tightened up and Rambo scored his hat trick goal with just under three minutes to play to bring us to the final quarter. At the end of three, Philadelphia led New England 7-6.
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The fourth quarter started with the longest draw of the game. With the man advantage from a penalty, Trevor Baptiste battled Joe Nardella for a good ten seconds before pushing the ball to a teammate. They couldn’t score before the penalty was released and the Black Wolves gained some confidence. On a third effort possession just a few minutes later, Resetarits evened the score at seven. That was all the scoring for regulation as the defenses gained the advantage again. Higgins made 13 saves for the Wings and Jamieson saved 12 in the fourth quarter. At the end of regulation, the tie was scored 7-7.
Philadelphia won the opening draw to start the extra frame but could not end the game. Both teams had a few tense possessions before Crawford decided it was time to go home. Diving from the right side through the crease, he buried the shot and immediately jumped up rushing to his teammates on the bench. The goal was reviewed for what seemed an eternity, and upheld due to inconclusive evidence. Final Score: Philadelphia-7, New England-8.
Up Next:
The New England Black Wolves (4-0) host the Georgia Swarm (2-3) on Sunday, January 26 at 1:00 PM EST.
The Philadelphia Wings (3-2) host the Rochester Knighthawks (1-4) on Sunday, January 19 at 7:00 PM EST.