Gary Broughton nets 5 points to lead Rochester over the Swerve.
HENRIETTA, N.Y. — The Rochester Lancers bolted to leads of 5-1 and 10-3 and after a second-quarter hiccup poured it on in the second half for a 17-7 runaway victory over the Cincinnati Swerve on Saturday night at the Dome Arena.
A second straight sellout crowd on consecutive nights saw Rochester improve to 2-0. The Lancers had opened the season, their first since 2015, with a 7-3 victory on Friday night over the Detroit Waza Flo.
Ten different Lancers scored on Saturday. Leading the way was veteran midfielder Gary Boughton with 3 goals and 2 assists, and forward Michael Cunningham, a native of England, had 3 goals. Newcomer Boomer Steigelman and returnee Lubo Kocic had 2 goals and 1 assist each, and midfielder Tim Lazorko had 1 goal. Goalkeeper Marcelo Moreira made 7 saves.
Rochester led 32-15 in shots. Matthew Kinkopf led Cincinnati (2-3) with 3 goals.
The Swerve jumped on top Saturday, but Rochester responded with 3 straight goals from veteran Jeremy Ortiz and then back-to-back strikes from Cunningham to end the first quarter. Kocic and Lazorko each connected twice in the second quarter.
The visitors narrowed the gap to 6-3, agitating Lancers coach Doug Miller. But his squad answered, scoring 4 straight to make it 10-3.
What appeared like it could be a rout turned quickly. The Swerve scored twice in the final 50 seconds of the half, a letdown that drew Miller’s ire in the locker room, and made it 10-6 early in the third quarter.
But the Lancers woke up again. Enrique ripped a shot into the upper right corner from the right side with 7:15 left in the period. Two minutes later, Boughton slid a beautiful pass across the goal to Steigelman, who converted on a lunging boot from in front.
The score was 12-6 and Rochester was on its way to a 2-0 start. Steigelman converted 90 seconds into the fourth quarter and the Lancers never looked back.
The Lancers are back in action next weekend, playing their first road matches of the young season at the Muskegon Risers in Michigan on Friday at 7 pm, and they visit the Detroit Waza Flo next Saturday night. Rochester returns home for matches on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 against the Chicago Mustangs and Detroit Waza Flo.
The Lancers also raised $3,000 for the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester through a post-match jersey auction.