Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
A record crowd entered MVP Arena in Albany, NY Saturday night to watch the Albany Firewolves (10-6), donned in throwback Albany Attack gear, host the Toronto Rock (13-3). Both teams are already locked in playoff spots, but the order of standings is still yet to be determined. In a low scoring affair, the Rock pulled away with a five-goal run in the second quarter that the Firewolves couldn’t recover from. Toronto left Albany with a statement win to hold on to the best record in the league. Before the opening faceoff, the franchise honored former captain Brett Manney by raising his #13 to the rafters of MVP Arena. Surrounded by his family, friends, and former teammates the ceremony for arguably one of the best American born box lacrosse players drew a standing ovation from the fans and both teams. Final Score: Toronto-10, Albany-7.
The first few minutes of the game set the tone for the evening. Both offenses had some good looks, but Toronto’s Nick Rose (47SV) and Albany’s Doug Jamieson (45SV) were not letting anything by. The first goal of the game came from veteran Challen Rogers (1G, 2A) getting his first game action after missing six straight because of injury. The goal was a beautiful personal effort. With the shot clock down under five, Rogers spun to the net under his defender and quickly buried the goal from in close. 5:58 into play and Toronto held a 1-0 lead. Just over a minute and a half later, Alex Simmons (2G, 1A) answered for the home team with a snipe from outside that rose over Rose’s shoulder. Scoring again took a long pause, but with five seconds left, Sam Firth (2G) scored on a sidearm shot from the middle of the zone after some quick and precise passing. At the end of the first quarter, Albany led Toronto 2-1.
The second quarter belonged to the visiting Toronto Rock. Starting the quarter with five unanswered goals, the Rock outscored the Firewolves 6-1 in the fifteen minutes before halftime. Chris Boushy (2G) tied the game at two just 25 seconds in with a sidearm snipe from outside. The visitors took the lead two minutes later with a goal from Mark Matthews (2G, 2A). Matthews found his hands free after running past a pick on his way to the middle of the zone. 37 seconds later, Tom Schreiber (1G, 5A) extended the lead to two goals scoring on a Rock second opportunity. Corey Small (1G, 3A) scored on a powerplay with 8:18 remaining, and Mitch de Snoo (1G) scored unassisted 55 seconds later bringing the score to 6-2 in favor of Toronto. Simmons temporarily stopped the onslaught, scoring in transition with a jump across the crease with 2:40 left in the half, but Boushy scored his second of the quarter with 1:48 left to keep the lead at four. At the half, Toronto led Albany 7-3.
Toronto opened the scoring in the third quarter, much to the chagrin of the home fans. Dan Lintner (1G, 1A) wrapped from behind the net, spun and fired to beat Jamieson with a bouncer 2:24 into play. Just over two minutes later, Jamieson found Nick Chaykowsky (1G, 1A) breaking in transition and hit him with a dime to create a goal and return the home team deficit to just four. Scoring absolutely halted for almost the remainder of the quarter until Firth scored on a power play opportunity with one minute left. At the end of the third quarter, Toronto led Albany 8-5.
Ending the third quarter on a two-goal run did not carry over as momentum for the home team into the fourth. Matthews scored his second of the night 47 seconds in and returned the Rock lead to four. Just over two minutes later, Anthony Joaquim (1G) scored unassisted in transition providing hope for the record home crowd. The team fed off the energy and Colton Watkinson (1G) found an opening in transition with 9:34 remaining, cutting the deficit to just two, but the Rock clamped down. Despite multiple efforts in transition and shots from all angles, Rose would not let another ball squeak by. In fact, with four seconds remaining his full field launch scored on the empty net to bring the game to a close. Final Score: Toronto-10, Albany-7.
Up Next:
The Toronto Rock (13-3) host the Rochester Knighthawks (6-9) on Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 PM EDT.
The Albany Firewolves (10-6) travel to play the Panther City Lacrosse Club (7-8) on Sunday, April 14 at 5:00 PM EST.