The New York Lizards needed one final push on offense to force an overtime period against the Denver Outlaws. Unfortunately for New York, the push they delivered was a literal one in the eyes of the referees.
New York, trailing 12-11, looked for an opportunity to tie the game by feeding the ball to Dylan Molloy with less than 30 seconds remaining. Nicky Galasso attempted to set a screen as defender Michael Rexrode initiated hard contact. Galasso looked to reset himself as the two players pushed off each other– and was called for a moving screen. The Lizards chances at tying the game were over, just like that.
The Lizards (0-3) fell to the Outlaws (0-3) in a Tuesday night contest filled with drama.
The game suffered a nearly 90-minute rain delay due to thunderstorms, before the start of the fourth quarter. Denver outscored its opponent 6-1 and took a 10-7 advantage in to the locker room. But, New York came out refreshed after the delay.
Connor O’Hara brought the team within two goals with 12:53 remaining. Both sides traded scores in transition resulting in a 12-10 Denver lead, midway through the fourth quarter. However, Sean O’Brien and Molloy scored goals 40 seconds apart and cut the Lizards deficit to one score.
The team spent the final 30 seconds a man down, due to an unsportsmanlike call on Galasso for arguing over the controversial call. Head coach BJ O’Hara also shared his disagreement with the referees as the clock ticked down.
“That’s the only call [the referees] have made, all night,” an outraged O’Hara yelled, which was picked up by a live mic.
New York outscored its opponent by two goals, won three more faceoffs and scooped four more ground balls in the fourth. However, the Lizards coughed up scoring chances by committing nine turnovers in the quarter.
The Lizards were up 6-4 at halftime and led 7-5 with 11 minutes left in the third quarter. Then, Outlaws attackman Ryan Lee caught fire and sparked an unanswered five-goal run which put the team up by three. Lee led the contest with five points, all of them from goals.
There may not have been a better defensive performance from New York this season than in the second. The Lizards held their opponent scoreless through an entire quarter for the first time this season, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, M.D.
Both teams were nearly identical in the first half. New York and Denver split its eight faceoff victories and earned four goals each in the first quarter. The Lizards outscooped the Outlaws 21-20 at halftime.
However, three of the four Lizards first quarter goals came off assists compared to just one by the Outlaws. O’Hara opened the scoring Tuesday evening by completing the alley-oop pass from Galasso, who was behind the net. Andrew Pettit blasted a sidearm shot for the goal off an assist by Ben Randall in transition, midway through the first. The duo traded places completing the buzzer-beater goal and tied the game at 4-all .
Defense dominated the second quarter, with neither side finding the back of the net for over 12 minutes. Alex Spring caused a couple of turnovers at midfield while the Outlaws defense smothered inside the arc, not allowing any clear shot opportunities.
Decker Curran eventually connected with a far-away score while O’Hara gave New York the 6-4 lead before halftime. O’Hara led the team with his third hat trick this season while Curran and Molloy each scored twice.
Casey Dowd pulled away 14 faceoff victories for Denver while Mark Andrejack and Andrew Bracy split 12 for New York.
Austin Kaut finished the night with 15 saves. His biggest were coming up with big stops against John Grant Jr’s behind-the-back attempts. Grant, 45, is the oldest player in the MLL.
Denver clinched a postseason berth with tonight’s victory. New York fell to last place in the standings following the loss. The Lizards failed to reach .500 for the second consecutive season, due to the 2020 season’s abridged schedule.
New York will return to action on Wednesday, July 22 against the Connecticut Hammerheads at 4 p.m. Both teams will be looking for its first win this season. Every game this season will take place at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
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