Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 7/17/11
From Press Releases and Staff Reports
The energy was high as fans were kept on their feet at Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y. where the host Long Island Lizards defeated the number-one ranked Boston Cannons 12-11 Saturday in Major League Lacrosse.
The Lizards were led by goalie Drew Adams (Springfield-Delco, Penn State), who made 24 saves and was named the Game MVP.
The Cannons dominated the beginning of the first quarter, but after the Cannons (6-2) were up 5-0, Stephen Peyser and Tim Goettelmann stepped up their game and each contributed two points.
Stephen Berger started off the second quarter with a goal in the first minute, tying the game 5-5. The Cannons went on to score five consecutive goals before John Grant Jr. scored a point for the Lizards with an impressive behind-the-back shot. Although Adams made some great doorstep saves, the second quarter ended with the Lizards down four points, 10-6.
The Lizards (3-5) made a quick comeback in the third quarter as Jay Card, Dan Cocchi, and Stephen Peyser all scored goals. Despite multiple goal attempts from the Cannons, including Paul Rabil and Matt Poskay, Adams was able to make some incredible saves, putting Boston in a scoring drought throughout the whole third quarter.
The final score was unpredictable going into the fourth quarter with the Cannons in the lead by one point, 10-9. With a good hustle by Brian Spallina, the Lizards’ gained possession of the ball, and Jay Card scored his second goal of the game off a feed from Tim Goettelmann. After some back-and-forth action, Danowski finally finished a two pointer with an assist from Nicky Polanco. Brad Ross of the Cannons responded shortly after, to bring the Cannons within one point of the Lizards with less than four minutes to play.
The final minutes consisted of numerous attempts on goal by the Cannons, but tremendous stops by Adams iced the win.
MLL All-Star Pat Heim (Conestopga) scored once for Boston and fellow All-Star selection Kyle Sweeney (Springfield-Delco) added two groundballs.
