Justin Ivey, Beat Writer New England Black Wolves
Lacrosse is Awesome
The New England Black Wolves (2-3) visit the Georgia Swarm (4-1) this Friday, February 11 for an East Division showdown. It will be their second matchup of their four-game series this season. The Swarm won the previous matchup 14-9.
The first meeting was also a Friday night game in Atlanta during week four of the NLL season. New England was coming off two straight road game losses, and Georgia was coming off two straight wins, the most previous on the road against Buffalo. The Black Wolves would not score in the first quarter, and Georgia would score four. New England would never really be able to cut into the lead after that, trading goals for most of the second and third quarters. The fourth quarter saw Georgia rattle three in a row to start before the Black Wolves finally made a run of their own. The four straight goals would come too late, and Georgia would easily finish with the win.
Georgia will be coming into this matchup a week after suffering their first loss of the season. The Colorado Mammoth got the best of them 14-10 at the Pepsi Center in Colorado. It was a tight game but Colorado’s four goal run in the second quarter proved too big of a deficit to overcome. Even in the loss though, the Swarm played well. They only gathered two penalties for a total of four minutes, and the Thompson brothers stuffed the stat sheet. Miles (2G, 2A), Lyle (4G, 1A) and Jerome (4A) combined for 13 total points. The entire team had 26 points (10G, 16A). That means they accounted for over half of the team’s goals and nearly half of the team assists. Lyle Thompson currently sits at sixth in the NLL for points with 30, and teammates Randy Staats (25PTS) and Jordan Hall (25) join him in the top 10. It would be difficult to complete an entire NLL season undefeated, and with the loss in a difficult building to play, it is difficult to look at this loss as more than just a bump in what should be a great season for Swarm lacrosse.
New England won their second game in a row last week when they hosted the Rochester Knighthawks, 10-9. Both wins were only one goal differences. Two weeks ago, they won when Kevin Crowley netted the tiebreaker with 53 seconds left in regulation, and it took 1:53 of overtime for Chad Culp to bury the sudden death game winner last week. They still count as two wins, but they were closer than I’m sure the coaches would have liked. After starting with three straight road games turning into three straight losses, their two-game home stand will provide some momentum coming into this next road game. They looked in control in the first half against Rochester, going into the third quarter with a 4-1 lead. But, they let Rochester outscore them 8-5 in the second half, including a five-goal run from the end of the third quarter into the start of the fourth. The New England big guns have been showing up on the stat sheet over this two-game home stand. Kevin Crowley tallied five goals and four assists and Shawn Evans got five goals and eight assists over the last two games. The defense also noticeably improved at home over the last two games, averaging 11 goals allowed per game, compared to 13.33 over the first three. What hasn’t looked up despite the big names scoring has been the goals scored per game. New England still hasn’t scored more than 10 goals in a game this season.
NEW ENGLAND KEYS TO THE GAME:
- Avoid allowing runs. Rochester’s five goal run brought them back in the game and gave them an opportunity to win at the end. The defense can’t allow the Georgia stars to feel like every shot they take is going in. The four-goal run in the first quarter in the first matchup, started the script wrong in the last meeting.
- Pass, pass, pass. The same key as last week, and the improvement was noticeable. Besides Derek Searle’s first quarter goal, every other goal was assisted. The movement got Rochester goalie Matt Vinc moving allowing shooters to see openings.
- Possess the ball. Quick shots have not been on target this year. Run the offense, trust the offense.
GEORGIA KEYS TO THE GAME:
- Get everyone involved. The Thompson brothers are good, but even with them scoring six goals against Colorado, the team still lost. Other Swarm players need to capitalize on their opportunities.
- Win the face-offs. Georgia currently sits second to last in face off win percentage. It will be a tough matchup against faceoff wizard jay Thorimbert, but possessions are going to be important.
- Get the crowd involved. Georgia is also second to last in average attendance this year. Taking the lead will get the home crowd involved and hopefully the energy can continue the momentum.
NEW ENGLAND PLAYERS TO WATCH:
- Chad Culp – Two goals last week including the overtime game winner. The Wiley veteran is having a great start to his tenure in New England.
- Jay Thorimbert – Currently leads the league in faceoff percentage out of all players having taken more than 100. The possession game is important. Look for him to continue his dominance.
- Pat Saunders – He was held to only one goal against Rochester. Look for him to get back in the multiple goal club.
GEORGIA PLAYERS TO WATCH:
- Lyle Thompson – He is just a highlight reel. Precision accuracy, fancy passes, quick feet.
- Mike Poulin – Suffered his first loss as goaltender for the Georgia swarm last week. It shouldn’t affect the veteran net minder too much, but early goals could shake him.
- Randy Staats – Second on the team in points, the NLL sophomore can score anytime he touches the ball.
PREDICTION
I think New England Black Wolves defeat the Georgia Swarm 15-9. Yes, the Black Wolves will score over 10 goals for the first time this season. The momentum they gathered will carry over and through their first road win of the year. Georgia will suffer the second loss in a row. Shawn Evans, Kevin Crowley, and Chad Culp will once again all have multiple goals. The Thompson brothers will have a hand in seven of the nine Georgia goals.
Justin Ivey, Beat Writer New England Black Wolves
Lacrosse is Awesome