Barrage remain perfect at home with win over Dragons

[Sonny]

Downingtown, PA - Midfielder Seth Goldberg scored four goals and added an assist as the Philadelphia Barrage (5-2) remained in a tie for the Eastern Conference lead with a 14-9 victory over the San Francisco Dragons (2-5) at the United Sports Training Center on Friday evening.

With the win, the Barrage kept even with the Rochester Rattlers, who beat Long Island on Thursday evening. Philadelphia also improved to a perfect 4-0 at home this season.

Philadelphia jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter as Goldberg and attackman Michael Springer scored back-to-back goals. However, the Dragons took a 3-2 lead with a pair of goals just 23 seconds apart, including a two-point tally from midfielder Tim Booth. The Barrage responded by scoring three straight goals over a two-minute span to regain a two-point advantage early in the second quarter.

Led by a goal and an assist from rookie attackman Jake Byrne, the Dragons took a 6-5 cushion by tallying three goals in a row over a five-minute span. The teams traded goals to end the first half, giving San Francisco a 7-6 lead at the intermission.

Trailing by one, the Barrage quickly regained the advantage by recording the first four points of the third quarter. Attackman Ryan Boyle tied the game just 39 seconds into the period with an unassisted goal before midfielder Kevin Cassese scored off a Boyle assist, giving Philadelphia an 8-7 edge. With 3:51 left in the quarter, midfielder Roy Colsey upped the Barrage lead to 10-7 with a two-point goal past goalkeeper Matt Vallone.

After San Francisco scored two of the next three goals to narrow the margin to 11-9, Goldberg ignited a three-goal spurt by the Barrage by scoring back-to-back markers to secure the Barrage's victory. Boyle scored the final goal of the game at the 6:28 mark of the fourth quarter.

Goldberg led all players with his four-goal effort while Boyle scored three goals with three assists. Springer contributed a three-goal, one-assist effort while Striebel tallied three assists.

Byrne led the Dragons in a losing effort, scoring two goals with an assist. Vallone made 20 saves in the loss.

Box Score

1 2 3 4 F
San Francisco Dragons 3 4 1 1 9
Philadelphia Barrage 4 2 5 3 14

One-Point Goals: SF - Jake Byrne 2, Todd Fairlie 2, Greg Gurenlian 2, Liam Banks 1; PHI - Seth Goldberg 4, Michael Springer 3, Ryan Boyle 3, Jed Prossner 1, Kevin Cassese 1

Two-Point Goals: SF - Tim Booth 1; PHI - Roy Colsey 1

Assists: SF - Tom Zummo 1, Jake Byrne 1; PHI - Matt Striebel 3, Ryan Boyle 3, Seth Goldberg 1, Roy Colsey 1, Andy Corno 1, Michael Springer 1

Saves: SF - Matt Vallone 20 (60:00, 13 goals allowed); PHI - Brian Dougherty 14 (60:00, 8 goals allowed)

Attendance: 2,503