Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/9/15
From Press Release
Greg Gurenlian (Springfiekld-Delco, Penn State) won 16 of 23 face-offs and scooped 11 groundballs while scoring once and Drew Adams (Springfield-Delco, Penn State) posted 11 saves as New York Lizards defeated the Rochester Rattlers Saturday at Kennesaw, Ga., For their first MLL championship since 2003.
Rochester started off strong with two back-to-back goals immediately lifting them to 2-0. With a goal by Ned Crotty and Paul Rabil the Lizards still came up short, finishing the first quarter trailing 6-2.
Matt Gibson started the second quarter off hot with a rebound shot, the Lizards outscoring the Rattlers 5-2. Tommy Palasek, JoJo Marasco and two by Rob Pannell contributed with goals of their own, closing the lead to one at the end of the half.
Pannell scored his third consecutive goal of the night with 12:35 left in the 3rd to tie the score at 8. From then on, it was a game of cat and mouse – Rattlers score, Lizards tie. Gurenlian netted one of his own on a face-off win to goal shot, bolting straight for the Rattlers net. With only 26 seconds left in the quarter, Gibson netted a game-tying goal.
The fourth quarter seemed to be all Rochester again as the minutes were ticking down and Jordan Wolf (Lower Merion) secured his second of the night. It was the last we would hear from the Rattlers, though. Rob Pannell quickly retaliated with his fourth of the night to tie the score up at 12. And then Mike Stone followed suit. New York solidified their win with two more goals from Palasek and Rabil to secure their 15-12 win over the Rochester Rattlers and their third Major League Lacrosse Championship title.
Other notable accomplishments throughout the game included Adams’ 11 saves, including some heart-stoppers. Paul Rabil, (3 goals, 3 assists) was named 2015 MLL Championship Most Valuable Player and rightly so.
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