Lizards Edge Pride in Season Finale

[Sonny]

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - A disappointing 2007 season ended with a loss for the Pride as they fell to the Long Island Lizards, 15-14, at Mitchell Athletic Complex Saturday night. The Lizards rode a seven goal first half run to turn an early hole into a halftime edge. Conor Ford scored with 1:06 to play to bring the score to 15-14, setting up an important draw. Chris Colliniates won the draw, but the Pride failed to convert giving the Lizards the opportunity to run out the clock.

The Pride defense was stifling, however, and produced the strip, allowing for one final possession. Following a time-out, the Pride had less than twenty seconds to score the equalizer. While Kyle Harrison beat several men to fire a shot, and Merrick Thomson scooped up the rebound to stuff the ball home, it was ruled that Thomson interfered with Long Island goaltender Matt McMonagle, and the goal was waived off.

"I thought Merrick made a good play," Harrison said, "but you have to give it to McMonagle. We had our chance and he made a big save." "I feel like we didn't start playing until midway through the third quarter," Pride coach Jacobs said. "I said it before halftime, and at halftime, that the guys had to start picking up ground balls. If you don't play for 35-to-40 minutes, you're not going to win the game."

Matt Baran made his first career start, playing the full game in goal for the Pride and stopping 24-of-38 shots in place of a resting Rob Scherr.

"I think, again, it wasn't until the third quarter when our guys got comfortable with Matty back there," Jacobs said. "I think Matt played well, he wasn't the reason we lost." "It was fun," Baran said of the start. "the guys in front of me made it so much easier for me."

Baran was noticeably active on the field, contributing on ground balls and clears frequently. "That's always been my game,'' the second year netminder said. "If I could take it myself I would, it's just so much more fun."

Thomson scored a hat-trick for the second consecutive week for the Pride and added an assist to lead the team in scoring. "I have no idea how he went undrafted," Harrison said of Thomson. "He's a guy who's fun to watch play. I look forward to playing with him next season."

The game was also riddled with technical difficulties, with a non-operational scoreboard and overly long time-outs. "[The scoreboard] had an effect," Jacobs said. "I feel like it was a little easier for it to snowball out of control, for the guys to not realize they were on a 9-2 run. Then it factors in on some possessions too, where you can't see the shot clock. At the same time it wasn't like they could see the clock and we couldn't."

The long time-out breaks had Jacobs visibly irate on the sidelines. "It's kind of a joke," Jacobs said. "Every game we've played, time-outs are very strict – they're a minute-and-a-half, two minutes. This game they were three or four."

Following the game, Jacobs kept the team huddled for a long talk. "I thanked them," Jacobs said, "because I do consider it an honor. I like the guys a lot, as much as I rant and rave on the sidelines like a lunatic, and I want them to know that."

The Pride once again jumped out to an early lead, a familiar theme for the team this season. Thomson took a Harrison feed and beat two men to the goal to open the scoring, and Joe Yevoli added a goal on a Ford feed on the Pride's next possession to take a 2-0 lead after 3:00. Greg Peyser extended the lead to three for the Pride, but Long Island's Nick Bonacci responded with two goals to cut the lead to 3-2. A two point score by Stephen Berger in the quarters final minutes gave Long Island a 4-3 lead after one.

The second quarter got off to a fast start, with goals on the opening three possessions. Brian Hubschmann scored for the Lizards, and Conor Ford matched for the Pride following the ensuing draw. Peter Vlahakis concluded the run when he won the following draw and took it the distance to give Long Island the 6-4 edge. The Lizards closed the half on a 3-1 run, with two goals by Keith Cromwell and a score by Berger sandwiched around Thomson's second score of the night, making the score 9-5 in favor of the Lizards at the break.

Long Island extended its lead early in the third with unanswered goals by Rob Bonaguro, Frank Resetarits and Tim Goettelmann to up the lead to seven goals. The Pride clawed back into the game with a four-goal run. Matt Rewkowski and Ford had a goal and an assist in the run, along with goals by Yevoli and Adam Doneger and an assist by Thomson.

Resetarits ended the scoring for the quarter with a fantastic one-man effort, to make it 13-9 heading into the final session. The Pride cut into the deficit with a pair of strong efforts out of the midfield. First Dan Chemotti worked through a difficult clear for the Pride, found Thomson, then took the return pass to goal for the tally. Harrison followed by beating his man to the goal line, cutting back to goal and beating McMonagle with a crease dive.

Goettelmann scored for the Lizards to extend the lead back to three, but Rewkowksi found Thomson on the crease to again cut into the deficit. Bonacci re-upped the advantage for Long Island following a scramble which gave the Lizards a 3-on-0 opportunity, but again the Pride chipped back with a tally by Doneger to make the score 15-13 with less than four to play.

New Jersey (4-8) 3-2-4-5 / 14
Long Island (5-7) 4-5-4-2 / 15

One-Point Goals:
NJ – Conor Ford 3, Merrick Thomson 3, Joe Yevoli 2, Adam Doneger 2, Matt Rewkowski 1, Dan Chemotti 1, Kyle Harrison 1, Greg Peyser 1.
LI – Nick Bonacci 3, Frank Resetarits 2, Keith Cromwell 2, Tim Goettelmann 2, Peter Vlahakis 1, Stephen Berger 1, Brian Hubschmann 1, Robert Bonaguro 1.

Two-Point Goals:
LI – Stephen Berger 1.

Assists:
NJ – Conor Ford 2, Matt Rewkowski 2, Joe Yevoli 1, Merrick Thomson 1.
LI – Frank Resetarits 2.

Saves:
NJ – Matt Baran 24 (60:00, 14 goals allowed).
LI – Nick Murtha 9 (30:00, 5 goals allowed); Matt McMonagle 8 (30:00, 9 goals allowed).

Attendance: 3,432