Barrage drop Cannons, remain undefeated

[Sonny]

DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. – Attackman Ryan Boyle scored a game-high four goals and added two assists as the defending MLL champion Philadelphia Barrage (3-0) remained the only undefeated team in Major League Lacrosse with a 16-13 victory over the Boston Cannons (2-3) at the United Sports Training Complex on Saturday evening.

The victory extended the Barrage’s regular season win streak to eight straight games, dating back to last season. Meanwhile, the Cannons lost for the third time in the last four games.

The teams traded goals in the first seven minutes of the game before attackman Jed Prossner and midfielder Matt Striebel scored back-to-back goals to give Philadelphia a two-goal edge after the first period.

Midfielder D.J. Andrzejewski and attackman Mikey Powell countered with consecutive goals to tie the game before Philadelphia answered with two straight goals to regain its advantage. After Powell scored off an assist from rookie David Mitchell to cut the deficit to 5-4, the Barrage went on a four-goal run to take a 9-4 lead with 1:38 left in the first half. Striebel scored twice during the rally.

With 41 seconds left in the first half, attackman Chazz Woodson scored to narrow the margin to 9-5 at the intermission.

After midfielder Andrew Corno opened the second half by winning the opening face-off and scoring on an unassisted tally, Boston used three straight goals from midfielder Brett Bucktooth to reduce the Barrage’s lead to 10-8 with 5:13 remaining in the stanza. Following a goal by Justin Smith, the Cannons ran off three consecutive goals to tie the game at 11-11.

Attackman John Christmas gave Boston a 12-11 edge with an unassisted goal just over a minute into the fourth quarter before the Barrage used a five-goal rally to take a 16-12 advantage with 3:19 left in regulation. Boyle and midfielder Seth Goldberg each scored two goals while midfielder Michael Springer added a pair of assists.

Woodson scored with 2:34 left in the fourth quarter, but the Barrage held off the Cannons and earned the victory.

Boyle, who has tallied 15 points in the last two games, was named as the Bud Light MVP while Springer recorded a goal with four assists. Smith and Striebel also added three goals for the Barrage, who were outshot by a 53-45 margin.

Bucktooth led Boston in a losing effort by scoring four goals while three other players each had two goals. Goalkeeper Jake Coon made 15 saves in the loss.