Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
On Friday night, the Georgia Swarm (2-1) visited the Colorado Mammoth (0-2) at Ball Arena. This was their second matchup of the season, and the Swarm took the first meeting on December 9 in Georgia, 16-10. The switch to Colorado did not provide the necessary gumption for the Mammoth to split the season series. Behind a solid effort from Brett Dobson (42SV) in goal and big nights from Lyle Thompson (2G, 4A) and Seth Oakes (4G, 1A), the Swarm were able to keep the Mammoth in the rear view for most of the game. Final Score: Georgia-15, Colorado-8.
The Swarm started the game, well, swarming. On their first possession of the game, Thompson launched an underhand shot from up top that bounced along the turf to beat Colorado netminder Dillon Ward (35SV) just 34 seconds in. Just over two minutes later, Jordan MacIntosh (2G, 3A) doubled the lead with a transition goal. 15 seconds later, Liam Byrnes (1G, 1A) found the net in transition after a bad Colorado turnover at the mid stripe. Just three minutes into the game and the Georgia Swarm had found a three-goal lead. The Colorado defense was able to supply some stops over the next few minutes, giving the offense an opportunity to cut into the lead. With the 5-on-5 struggling to find a footing, the first goal for the home team came in transition. Connor Robinson (3G) did not wait for the offense to settle once he reached the offensive end. Instead, he spun low on his defender and dove into the crease while scoring. The goal was his first of the season. With just under seven minutes remaining, Dylan Kinnear (1G, 2A) streaked across the middle and caught a pass from Tyson Gibson (1G, 2A) before quickly turning in stride and scoring. The Swarm lead had diminished to one, and completely disappeared when Robinson scored his second of the first quarter under a minute later. With 6:04 remaining, the Swarm and Mammoth were tied 3-3. The Mammoth couldn’t keep the streak alive, giving up the next goal to a diving Shayne Jackson (1G, 6A) with 5:11 remaining. Georgia jumped on that momentum and a cutting Andrew Kew (1G, 2A) scored with 2:07 left to get a two-goal lead going into the second quarter. At the end of the first quarter, Georgia led Colorado 5-3.
The second quarter was a defensive battle. For the first 11:14 there were no goals as both defenses stood tall in front of their respective netminders. Brendan Bomberry (2G) broke the knot with a rocket of a shot on a Swarm second effort and 4:46 remaining on the clock. Seth Oakes (4G, 1A) fired a rocket of his own 20 seconds later for a second Georgia goal, and Bryan Cole (1G, 1A) made it three in a row just 28 seconds after that. All three second quarter goals were scored by Georgia in a span of 48 seconds. At the half, Georgia led Colorado 8-3.
The defensive Stallworth continued out of the locker room in the second half. The first goal did not come until 5:15 had ticked off the clock. Robinson netted his hat trick goal on a powerplay opportunity to cut the home team deficit to two. Another Gibson goal with 7:50 remaining got the Mammoth within three, but the Swarm fought back to keep Colorado at an arm’s length away. MacIntosh netted his second in transition with 3:31 left, and on the next Georgia possession, Oakes netted his second of the evening. Connor Kelly (2G, 1A) was able to get one back for Colorado, launching a long single bounce shot that found the top corner of the net with 1:07 left. At the end of the third quarter, Georgia led Colorado 10-6.
The defenses again flexed their muscles at the start of the fourth quarter. 5:30 passed before the first goal and unfortunately for the home team, it was a Swarm stinger. Bomberry netted his second of the evening and the flood gates opened again. Oakes followed the lead goal with another 47 seconds later. Zach Miller (1G, 1A) scored his only goal of the game in transition 40 seconds following and suddenly Georgia led 13-6 with 8:03 left on the game clock. Oakes added his fourth of the game with 6:50 remaining to bring the lead to eight. Eli McLaughlin (1G, 2A) tried to start a comeback, scoring in transition with 5:01 left, but Thompson had a goal to answer within a minute. Kelly would find the net for his second of the fourth quarter 19 seconds later, but neither team would concede a goal for the remainder. Final Score: Georgia-15, Colorado-8
Up Next:
The Georgia Swarm(2-1) travel to play the Buffalo Bandits (1-1) on Friday, December 29 at 7:30 PM EST.
The Colorado Mammoth (0-2) will host the Vancouver Warriors (1-1) on Saturday, December 30 at 9:00 PM EST.