By Craig Potter
Rochester doubles up Atlanta but now must wait to see if the Cannons lose on Saturday in order to gain a MLL playoff berth.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Rattlers did their part by beating the Atlanta Blaze, 18-9, on Thursday night at Wegmans Sports Complex at Aquinas Institute.
Now the Florida Launch (3-10) need to help the Rattlers by beating the Boston Cannons (7-6) on Saturday to propel the Rattlers into the upcoming Major League Lacrosse playoffs.
The Cannons hold the tie-breaker over the Rattlers (8-6) as Boston swept the series, thanks to a 92-yard goal that tied the game in Boston. The Cannons then went on to post the victory in overtime, 16-15. Boston also beat the Rattlers in the second meeting in Rochester.
The first half was tight as the game was tied 4 times with 2 lead changes.
Ned Crotty’s goal with 1:05 left in the second quarter put the Rattlers in front to stay at 7-6.
The Rattlers came out in the third quarter and scored twice in the first minute before Penfield native Kyle Denhoff netted a 2-point goal for an 11-6 lead.
Rochester outscored Atlanta 8-2 in the third period to take control of the game.
“There was a time in that first half where I didn’t know if we were going to get it done,” said Rattlers head coach Tim Soudan.
Dhane Smith paced the Rattlers leading scorer with 5 goals. The game was just the third one for Smith, who was recovering from a foot injury, with the Rattlers after he set the National Lacrosse League (NLL) scoring record this past season with 137 points for the Buffalo Bandits.
Jesse King added 5 points on 3 goals and 2 assists. Kip Orban had another solid game with a hat trick. Ned Crotty had 2 goals and 1 assist.
Drew Simoneau went 17-for-30 on faceoffs, and scored the first goal of the game just 5 seconds into the action. He also had 9 ground-balls.
Goalies John Galloway made 11 saves and Fairport native Blaze Riorden recorded 2 saves for the Rattlers.
“We did our part,” Soudan said. “We had some up and downs and some injuries that hurt us this year at times. A 92-yard goal might be our demise, but all-in-all we’re a great group of guys who love being together.”
Rochester lost leading scorer Jordan Wolf and Jordan MacIntosh to season-ending injuries. However, other guys did step up.
“I ran into Randy Mertz at a high school lacrosse game and I was asking questions and he said, ‘I don’t know why anyone isn’t picking up Dhane Smith.’ Alright, so I’ll pick up Dhane Smith. I’m really glad I did.”
Soudan cited rookie defenseman Matt Dunn from Maryland and veteran defender Donny Moss, an Aquinas graduate, for their play this season.
Also Penfield graduate Kyle Denhoff was selected to the MLL All-Star this season.
“John Galloway continues to impress me every time,” Soudan said. “There are minutes that (Fairport grad) Blaze Riorden has played, he’s been awesome.
“They all impress me at times. It really comes down to trying to play a flawless game.”
Links
Rochester Rattlers – rochesterrattlers.com
Videos
Goalie John Galloway save – https://youtu.be/poJ40-J7Fuw
Dhane Smith goal – https://youtu.be/JLaPNgmhG6k
Ned Crotty goal – https://youtu.be/NXxdGbB7-24
Michael Lazore goal – https://youtu.be/msW5vGmuvVM
Crotty from King goal – https://youtu.be/agnuGNVg3ao
Tim Soudan interview – https://youtu.be/C5RHXV0Jveo