Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
MVP Arena in Albany, New York was buzzing for the Albany Firewolves (7-10) final home game of the regular season on Saturday night. The Firewolves faced the San Diego Seals (8-9) for the first time since they knocked them out of the playoffs last year, and to keep their playoff hopes alive, they needed to win again. Pat Kavanaugh (1G, 2A) made his NLL debut with the Seals, who came into this matchup with a roster that has changed a lot since last year. In a contest that stayed tight throughout the night, Tye Kurtz (6G, 3A) supplied the spark needed to give the edge to Albany. His sock trick, and another outstanding night in goal from Doug Jamieson (10 GA, 39SV), keep the Albany playoff hopes alive. Final Score: San Diego-10, Albany-12
The first quarter started as a bit of a back-and-forth affair. Kurtz opened the scoring 3:57 in and Kyle Jackson (2G, 1A) dodged himself to a crease dive goal under a minute later, giving the Firewolves a 2-0 lead. Zach Currier (2G, 1A) scored just 19 seconds after, finally getting the visiting Seals on the board. Scoring took a break for a couple minutes before rookie sensation Dyson Williams (1G, 5A) scored on a power play to restore the Albany two goal lead. For the rest of the first, San Diego took control. They scored three goals in just over two minutes to snatch the lead. First, Jake Govett (2G) scored in transition with 6:56 remaining. Wes Berg () tied the game with 5:05 left, and Ben McIntosh (2G, 2A) gave San Diego the lead with 4:40 on the clock. Neither team could find another goal before the quarter ended. At the end of the first, San Diego led Albany 4-3.
Albany tied the game 4-4 when Alex Simmons (1G, 4A) scored the opening goal of the second quarter. Unfortunately, Currier followed with his second of the game just 36 seconds later, restoring the San Diego lead. Kurtz must have found a phone booth somewhere near the home bench to change into a superhero alter ego, and scored two goals in a row, completing his first half hat trick and bouncing the lead back to Albany. Neither team could extend the lead further than two goals. Kavanaugh scored his first NLL goal in his first NLL game with 2:44 remaining, and the Seals took the lead with 1:31 left on a Ryan Benesch (1G, 2A) late shot clock dump to the net from near the benches that ended up bouncing past Jamieson. At the half, San Diego led Albany 7-6.
The third quarter started with a defensive masterclass. Neither team could score for almost the first 10 minutes. Finally, McIntosh scored with just 5:29 left, giving San Diego a two-goal lead, their largest of the night. Despite the slow start to the quarter, four goals were scored in the final two minutes in a flurry. Kurtz scored on a power play opportunity and 1:35 left. Will Johansen (1G) tied the game 8-8 with an unassisted goal just 18 seconds later. 16 seconds after that, Trent DiCicco (1G) restored the San Diego lead with his own unassisted marker. Finally, with one second left, Kurtz scored his fifth goal of the night to even things up again. At the end of the third quarter, San Diego and Albany were tied 9-9.
Jackson started the fourth quarter with his second goal of the game, delivering the lead to Albany just 1:02 into play. Kurtz scored his sock trick goal three and a half minutes later and Albany led by two. Govett brought the Seals back within one, scoring with 8:23 left, but the Albany defense stood tall for the rest of the game, turning everything away. Nick Chaykowsky (1G) scored the empty netter with 29 seconds left, bringing us to our final. Final Score: San Deigo-10, Albany-12.
Up Next:
The Albany Firewolves (7-10) travel to play the San Diego Seals (8-9) on Friday, April 18 at 10:30 PM EDT.