Justin Ivey, Co-Editor and NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
To remain alive in their quest for a ticket to the playoffs the Albany Firewolves (8-9) needed to beat the Philadelphia Wings (8-9) for the second time this season. Philadelphia had the chance to guarantee a playoff spot for themselves with a win. The first tilt in this two-game series came down to the wire when a 7-7 fourth quarter tie was broken with under five minutes remaining to give Albany the win in Philadelphia. While this game in Albany started similar with a low scoring, defensive first half, the Firewolves changed the script in the second half and ran away with the victory. Led by Joe Resetarits (4G, 3A) the Firewolves scored nine unanswered goals spanning a ridiculous game time of over 42 minutes without the Wings finding the net. The scoreless streak for Philadelphia started in the second quarter and didn’t end until there were only three seconds left in the fourth. The dominating victory from Coach Glen Clark’s Firewolves keeps the postseason hopes alive for Albany. Final Score: Philadelphia-5, Albany-11.
A tantalizing side story in this rivalry is the matchup between Albany’s Joe Nardella and Philadelphia’s Trevor Baptiste at the face-off dot. An argument could be made that either is the best face-off player in the league right now and Joe Nardella won the opening battle. Both teams had empty first possessions before Matt Rambo (2G) put the Wings on the board first, scoring while jumping into the crease on a great run. Corey Small (1G, 1A) doubled that lead 3:06 in, but Resetarits answered under a minute later for Albany’s first goal of the night. The defenses stepped up after that and both teams were coreless until Kevin Crowley (1G, 1A) made the lead 3-1 with 1:55 left in the first quarter. That goal would close the quarter with Philadelphia leading Albany 3-1.
The Firewolves started the scoring in the second quarter when Ryan Benesch (1G, 2A) capitalized on a powerplay opportunity with a corner snipe from top middle. Philadelphia quickly got the lead back to two goals as Kyle Jackson (1G) caught a feed streaking from the bench and easily finished. Again, the defenses clamped down for an extended period before Andrew Kew (1G, 2A) found the back of the net with 4:34 remaining in the half. Philadelphia took the lead over Albany into the halftime break 4-3.
Resetarits found himself in the right spot at the right time early in the third quarter to tie the game at 4-4. A shot from Tanner Thomson (1G, 1A) left a juicy rebound and Resetarits dove, scooped and released the ball all in one motion while diving into the crease. The Firewolves defense held the Wings offense scoreless for the entire quarter. In fact, the last goal from Philadelphia was scored 2:36 into the second quarter. Taking advantage of the strong defense, Tony Malcolm (1G, 1A) found a streaking Adrian Sorichetti (1G) with a beautiful lob pass up field for a breakaway goal to give Albany their first lead of the game. At the end of the third quarter, Albany led Philadelphia 5-4.
The fourth quarter was not kind to Philadelphia while Albany fired on all cylinders. The stops that Albany goaltender Doug Jameison () had to make seemed near effortless, and those opportunities weren’t very many as the defense was constantly applying pressure. The game got chippy, to say the least, as the officials allowed a more playoff atmosphere with the physicality. The fourth quarter started with six unanswered goals, making it a run of nine going back to the second quarter. The highlight was the fourth goal from Resetarits. The tally was his 100th point on the season, the second time he has hit the mark in his career. The last of the streak was an empty netter from Thompson. Rambo finished the scoring on the evening netting his second with just three seconds remaining in the game. Final Score: Philadelphia-5, Albany-11.
Up Next:
The Philadelphia Wings (8-9) visit the Georgia Swarm (8-8) on Saturday, April 30 at 7:00 PM EST.
The Albany Firewolves (8-9) host the New York Riptide (6-10) on Saturday, April 30 at 7:00 PM EST.