Major League Lacrosse :      June 16, 2001 [ The Game Story]
New Jersey Pride 19 Baltimore Bayhawks 14 Scoring: Scoring: David Curry Jon Hess Scott Urick Jesse Hubbard Jay Jalbert Pat Duttan Matt Caione Jeff Wills Jim Keenan Tom Ryan (4, 1) (2, 3) (3, 0) (1, 2) (2, 0) (1, 1) (2, 0) (2, 0) (1, 0) (1, 0) Dan Denihan Josh Sims Mark Millon Paul Cantabene Tom Marechek Greg Mccavera (3, 1) (3, 1) (3, 0) (2, 0) (2, 0) (1, 0) Saves: Saves: Steve Koudelka 0  (0.000) Greg Cattrano Tim Mcgreeney 0  (0.000) 0  (0.000) Current Record :     (2-0) Current Record :     (1-1) Team Page For 2001 Team Page For 2001       The Game Story:

The opening goal of the game came out of the stick of Mark Millon on a sick move right on the crease. He was wide open and made NJ pay with a shot to the top right corner. It looked like it could be a great day for Millon as he then scored the second goal for Baltimore after a Keenan goal for Jersey. The Pride got some steam after that goal shutting down Millon until seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Many times in the first it looked like Baltimore was going to be controlling all of the aspects of the game as Jersey looked rather unpolished and not very together. Soon after however the eventual MVP, David Curry, stepped up huge finishing the game with 3 goals and an assist including New Jersey's first ever two pointer. It seemed as though Curry couldn't be stopped constantly breaking free and driving to the goal. Baltimore's defense seemed very selfish and single minded as many times the slides would just not come for them. This was a point Shoulberg said New Jersey stressed while making their draft choices. "They looked for defensemen who would fit into their defensive scheme and were good communicating team players." This was very evident during the game as at one point the score was a one sided 15-9.

The rest of the game was very much New Jersey aside from a few shining moments for the Bayhawks. David Curry's two pointer was one of the finer goals of the game as aside from being worth two points it occured with 6 seconds left in the first quarter. The only goal that could rival that was Scott Urick's third goal on the day which was a dodge from the right side of the box finished off by a lefty dive across the crease. I was thoroughly impressed by the play of Jay Jalbert for New Jersey who had a couple nasty high to high shots throughout the game, two of which found the back of the net. The main standout play for the Bayhawks came from a sweet takeaway check by D man Rob Doerr who gave it right up to Josh Sims. Sims then took it the length of the field firing a righty shot to the lower left corner right past Kouldelka. Neither goalie was very impressive as several relativey easy shots made it through, although in this league it is tough not to be scored on.

New Jersey, aside from a few sloppy passes and dropped balls by the attack in the beginning, looked stellar and like a serious contender for the championship. They often times looked like Baltimore's older brother constantly physically beating them up, at both ends of the field, which was extremely helpful in controlling the tempo of the game. The Bayhawks attack definately has some big names and this was evident multiple times however the team as a whole definately did not play as one. The attack and defense for Baltimore were, multiple times, overheard bickering at one another. Coach Brian Voelker felt this was evident and commented "We gave up too many easy goals...guys running by one man and shooting....guys cutting and no one playing them. We had a lot of breakdown today."

Sidenote- The attendance in Montclair NJ was lower then normal coming in at 2668 in total.