Christopher Crane, Rochester Knighthawks Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Photo Credit: J. Beam
The NLL would close out the weekend with some Sunday action as the Rochester Knighthawks (9-3) would travel south to the Gas South Arena to take on the (2-8) Georgia Swarm in their first meeting of two on the season. Rochester would be looking to bounce back from the one goal loss they suffered against the Toronto Rock in Week 14. The Georgia Swarm looked to extend their two game win streak they handled Albany 20-4 in the first game of the two game series and then defeated them again by a much closer score of 9-8 in game number two. With both teams in the Eastern Conference, a win for Rochester would help solidify their position for the third seed in the playoffs and for Georgia it would help gain some momentum to keep them out of the basement in the standings. This matchup would definitely have its’ twist and turns as both teams would swap their goalies a few times during the contest. Rochester had command of the first half while Georgia took control the second half with a rally that would come up just short as the Knighthawks would hold on for a 19-18 win. Rochester would be led by Connor Fields (5g, 5a), Thomas Hoggarth (4g, 4a), Ryan Smith (3g, 4a) and Holden Cattoni (3g, 5a).
The first quarter would be all Rochester as they would outscore Georgia 6-2. The Knighthawks Connor Fields would net three scores in the quarter out of his five on the night. Teammates Holden Cattoni, Ryan Smith and Ryland Rees (2g, 1a) would each net one score apiece in the quarter for Rochester. Georgia’s two scores would come from the hands of Seth Oakes (5g, 1) and Brendan Bomberry (2g, 2a).
Both teams would exchange goals in the second tallying six scores apiece. Rochester saw Cattoni, Fields and Hoggarth all notching two. Georgia on the other hand would get their six scores from five different players with Andrew Kew (3g, 4a) netting two scores; Shayne Jackson (5g, 3a); Oakes; Bomberry; and Lyle Thompson (3g, 7a) each notching one apiece. Rochester would head into halftime with a 12-8 lead.
The Swarm would begin their rally in the third and started to play catch up to the Knighthawks as they would outscore Rochester 5-3. Georgia’s L. Thompson would get things started early in the quarter which would have teammates Kew and Jackson tallying a single score in the frame. The Swarm would get two more from the likes of Oakes. Netting Rochester’s three would come from the hands of Turner Evans (1g, 3a), Hoggarth and Rees. With those three tallies, the Knighthawks would hold on to a slim 15-13 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Fourth quarter would have the Swarm outscoring the Knighthawks once again, this time 5-4. Rochester however would get things going first and they would go on a three goal run to try and put some distance between themselves and Georgia. Tallying the Knighthawks three scores would be R. Smith netting the first two, with Hoggarth netting the third to make it an 18-13 game. Georgia would then answer back with a three goal run of their own with Jackson tallying two and L. Thompson scoring the third to make it an 18-16 game at the 4:07 mark of the quarter. The Knighthawks would add one more score in the quarter and from defenseman Dan Coates for his only tally of the night. With 1:36 left, the Swarm would strike back with two more with Jackson finding the back of the net and Oakes putting up the final marker with 42 seconds left on the clock. Unfortunately it wouldn’t be enough as the Swarm would fall to the Knighthawks 19-18.
STATS:
Rochester Knighthawks—SOG 48; Saves 43; Sv% .705%; FO 13-39; PP 1-2
Georgia Swarm—SOG 61; Saves 29; Sv% .604%; FO 26-30; PP 1-3
NEXT UP:
The Georgia Swarm (2-8) will head to Wells Fargo Center where they will face the Philadelphia Wings (5-6) on Saturday March 18, 2023, game time 11:00 a.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the game on ESPN+. Fans in Canada can see the action on TSN.ca or the TSN app.
The Rochester Knighthawks (9-3) will play host to the Philadelphia Wings (5-6) at Blue Cross Arena on Sunday March 19, 2023, game time 3:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the game on ESPN+. Fans in Canada can see the action on TSN.ca or the TSN app.
Christopher Crane, Rochester Knighthawks Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©