Rochester notches first win, drops Pride

[Sonny]

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Attackman Casey Powell scored four goals and added four assists as the Rochester Rattlers (1-2) earned their first win of the season, a 21-14 victory over the New Jersey Pride (0-4) at PAETEC Park on Friday evening.

Powell, who has scored seven goals in the last two games, led Rochester to its first win since August 12 of last season in a 19-13 victory over Boston.

After attackman Conor Ford gave the Pride a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the first quarter, the Rattlers responded by scoring a pair of goals, including a two-point tally by Pat Dutton, to take a 3-1 advantage.

The teams traded goals in a 26-second span late in the opening period before the Pride scored three unanswered markers to take a one-point edge with 12:18 left in the first half. However, the Rattlers countered with three straight tallies, including the first MLL career goal for rookie midfielder Andrew Spack, to regain the advantage at 7-5.

Ford scored off an assist from attackman Jesse Hubbard at the 5:43 mark of the period before Rochester scored six of the final seven goals in the second quarter to lead by 13-7 at the intermission. Six different players tallied goals for the Rattlers, including Powell, who scored a goal with an assist.

Led by a goal and an assist from Powell, the Rattlers opened the third quarter with three more goals to take a 16-7 advantage. Midfielders Kevin Boland and Kyle Harrison each scored a goal with an assist during a three-goal rally, which cut the deficit to 16-10 with 7:02 remaining in the frame before the Rattlers added a pair of late goals, upping their lead to 18-10.

The Pride opened the fourth quarter by scoring three unanswered goals before attackman Jeff Zywicki ended the spurt with a goal off an assist from midfielder Chris Schiller, giving Rochester a 19-13 advantage. Ford scored his fifth goal of the game with 10:24 remaining, but Brandon Spillett kept New Jersey from mounting a comeback by scoring a pair of goals to give the Rattlers a seven-point victory.

Powell earned the Bud Light MVP honor by scoring a season-high eight points while Zywicki added four goals and an assist. Spillett posted his first career hat trick with a three-goal, one-assist effort.

Ford led New Jersey with five goals and an assist while Harrison scored three goals with an assist. Boland recorded two goals and two assists.