Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
The #4 Georgia Swarm hosted the #8 Halifax Thunderbirds for Game 1 of the NLL Semi-Finals Saturday night at Gas South Arena. After an impressive six-goal, four-assist performance in the first round, Lyle Thompson (1G, 2A) could not repeat the magic in back-to-back games. There was only one multi-goal scorer for the Swarm, Richie Connell (2G), as the entire offense struggled. Jason Knox (4G, 2A) led Halifax to the opening-game road win, and Warren Hill (7GA, 35SV) held the Swarm to just seven goals. After falling behind by three early in the second, Halifax took a one-goal lead into the half and never gave it up. Georgia would get as close as two in the fourth, but Halifax answered with three straight goals to end the game. Final Score: Halifax Thunderbirds -12, Georgia Swarm – 7.
The Swarm struck first. Connell found the opening goal 1:18 in, and the cowbells rang from the hometown fans. He picked a low corner after dancing back and forth behind a strong seal. Knox tied the game almost eight minutes later. After a reset and a rebound, he fired a sidearm shot on the run that beat Brett Dobson (11GA, 53SV) high. The Swarm regained the lead quickly. Mike Manley (1G, 1A) took off in transition, played catch with Jacob Hickey (2A), and quick-sticked the return pass for the goal. Neither team could find another goal for the remainder of the quarter. At the end of the first quarter, Georgia led Halifax 2-1.
Georgia grew the lead quickly in the second quarter, striking twice in the first minute. Jordan MacIntosh (1G) jumped across the crease for the first goal just 16 seconds in. Georgia won the ensuing faceoff, and the ball eventually found Thompson. He released a laser around his defender to put the Swarm up three. Halifax finally got on the board in the quarter 4:26 in. Brendan Bomberry (2G) scooped a loose ball out of the air in the middle of the zone and quickly fired past an unsuspecting Dobson. The Thunderbirds’ defense stood tall for the rest of the quarter while the offense ran off another three unanswered goals. Clarke Petterson (2G, 7A) stepped into a textbook overhand shot that found the top corner with 8:37 left. Stephen Keough (2G) tied the game just 38 seconds later. After a reset loose ball near midfield, Robinson scooped it and fired a bounce pass to a wide-open Keough. Knox gave Halifax the lead with 1:58 left, firing around his defender to the far side of the net. At the end of the first half, Halifax led Georgia 5-4.
Halifax continued the run to start the third quarter. They opened on a power play after a late Georgia penalty before the half. With the man advantage, Knox snuck into the zone and fired a sidearm shot to the top shelf just 28 seconds in. Connell ended the Swarm drought 33 seconds later. He beat his defender with a quick step down and continued his cut to the crease untouched, stretching his shot to the far-side post past Hill. After a few minutes of scoreless back-and-forth lacrosse, Keough restored the two-goal Halifax lead with 6:54 left. Just 30 seconds later, Casey Wilson (1G, 3A) extended it to three. He cut down the center of the zone and absorbed a big hit while quickly releasing a shot from in front of the crease. Bomberry made it four a minute later. Dobson made multiple saves, but Halifax kept finding rebounds, and Bomberry eventually found space on a cut to the net. With 19 seconds left, Petterson ended up in the Georgia bench as the game started to get chippy. Knox surprisingly ended up in the box for two minutes. Kaleb Benedict (1G) deked Hill from the crease multiple times before burying the ball with just four seconds remaining. At the end of the third quarter, Halifax led Georgia 9-6.
The Swarm broke through the early fourth-quarter stalemate. Shayne Jackson (1G, 3A) scored in transition, diving through the crease after rushing in from the bench. With 9:22 left, Georgia was back within two. Johnny Pearson (1G) pushed the lead back to three with a transition goal. Knox added his fourth of the game 23 seconds later. After a textbook pick-and-roll with Jamieson, he was left wide open on the crease. With 4:41 left, Halifax went to the box for two minutes, but the Swarm could not convert on the power play. With 1:51 left, Petterson took a long pass from Ryan Terefenko (1A) and scored into the empty net for the final goal of the game. Final Score: Halifax Thunderbirds – 12, Georgia Swarm – 7.
The Halifax Thunderbirds (1-0) will host the Georgia Swarm (0-1) on Saturday, May 9 at 6:00 PM EDT.