WASHINGTON, DC – Bud Light MVP/midfielder Anthony Kelly (Ohio State '03) won 19 of 28 face-offs and picked up eight groundballs and attackman Michael Watson (Virginia '97) scored five goals in the game for the third time this season as the Los Angeles Riptide defeated the Washington Bayhawks, 19-5, before a crowd of 1,999 at Georgetown University on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Riptide improved their record to 7-2 overall as they held their opponent to just five goals for the second consecutive game, and with three games remaining on the 2007 season schedule, the team strengthened their hold on first place in the Western Conference. The win also established a five-game winning streak for the Riptide for the first time in franchise history and set a franchise-high mark of seven wins in one season.
The Riptide got on the scoreboard first in the opening quarter with a goal from midfielder Graham Gill (Navy '05) at 1:13. Midfielder Sean Lindsay (Syracuse '04) added to the action with his tally at 9:32 to give the Riptide a 2-1 lead at the end of the first segment.
The Bayhawks started the second quarter with three goals to take a 4-2 lead, but Gill fought back for the Riptide with his second goal of the game at 10:19. Lindsay also knocked in his second goal at 13:47 to tie the low-scoring game at 4-4 heading into halftime. Attackman Terry Riordan (Hopkins '95) assisted on Lindsay's second goal.
The Riptide found a way to beat Bayhawks goalie Chris Garrity and tallied seven goals in the third quarter, while holding the Bayhawks scoreless in the frame. Gill started the action when he collected his third goal of the game at 1:03 and Watson added two goals (3:25 and 5:51) to give the Riptide a 7-4 lead. Attackman Spencer Ford (Towson '99) earned the assist on Watson's first goal and rookie midfielder Greg Downing (Fairfield '07) tallied the assist on Watson's second marker.
The Riptide continued the third segment onslaught with goals from Riordan at 7:34 and Watson's third of the quarter scored on the power play at 9:05. Lindsay earned an assist on Watson's tally. Midfielder J.J. Morrissey (Virginia '06) and attackman Wes Green (Adelphi '06) also collected goals at 12:24 and 13:10, respectively, to capture an 11-4 lead for the visiting team at the end of the quarter. Attackman Chazz Woodson (Brown '05) assisted on Morrissey's goal.
The Riptide outscored the Bayhawks 8-1 in the fourth quarter, which featured scoring from five different players as Riordan, Downing, Woodson (3 goals), Gill and Watson (2 goals) all netted goals, to post a 19-5 victory for the Riptide. Ford collected his second assist of the game on Gill's fourth goal to give him a total of 35 assists this season, just five assists shy of the MLL all-time record for assists in one season. Attackman Xander Ritz (Maryland '06) earned assists on Watson's fourth goal of the game and Woodson's second goal and Lindsay picked up the assist on Woodson's third goal of the game.
Goalie Mickey Jarboe (Navy '00) made 15 saves on the 20 shots he faced in the match-up and held the Bayhawks to just one goal during the second half, before he was relieved by goalie Matt Russell (Navy '06) with five minutes remaining in the game.
The Riptide's next game is set for Saturday, July 28 versus the San Francisco Dragons at The Home Depot Center, with the game scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
Line Score 1 2 3 4 TOTAL
Los Angeles 2 2 7 8 19
Washington 1 3 0 1 5
1st Quarter
Los Angeles - Graham Gill (unassisted) 1:13
Washington - Tom Marechek (Kyle Dixon) 3:11
Los Angeles - Sean Lindsay (unassisted) 9:32
2nd Quarter
Washington - Tom Marechek (powerplay) (unassisted) 2:23
Washington - Bill McGlone (unassisted) 7:41
Washington - Mark Frye (Kyle Dixon) 9:18
Los Angeles - Graham Gill (unassisted) 10:19
Los Angeles - Sean Lindsay (Terry Riordan) 13:47
3rd Quarter
Los Angeles - Graham Gill (unassisted) 1:03
Los Angeles - Michael Watson (Spencer Ford) 3:25
Los Angeles - Michael Watson (Greg Downing) 5:51
Los Angeles - Terry Riordan (unassisted) 7:34
Los Angeles - Michael Watson (powerplay) (Sean Lindsay) 9:05
Los Angeles - JJ Morrissey (Chazz Woodson) 12:24
Los Angeles - Wes Green (unassisted) 13:10
4th Quarter
Washington - Matt Ward (powerplay) (Tom Marechek) 2:23
Los Angeles - Terry Riordan (unassisted) 4:00
Los Angeles - Greg Downing (unassisted) 4:50
Los Angeles - Chazz Woodson (unassisted) 9:39
Los Angeles - Graham Gill (Spencer Ford) 10:24
Los Angeles - Michael Watson (Xander Ritz) 11:41
Los Angeles - Michael Watson (unassisted) 12:33
Los Angeles - Chazz Woodson (Xander Ritz) 13:07
Los Angeles - Chazz Woodson (Sean Lindsay) 14:12
Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 10:44 am