Major League Lacrosse :      August 24, 2002 [ The Game Story]
Long Island Lizards 19 New Jersey Pride 11 Scoring: Scoring: Steven Sombrotto Ken Garcia Kevin Finneran Tim Goettelmann Greg Traynor Casey Powell Matt O'kelly Aj Haugen Greg Mccavera Joey Ghedina Mat Caione (2, 3) (3, 2) (2, 2) (2, 1) (2, 1) (1, 1) (2, 0) (2, 0) (1, 0) (1, 0) (1, 0) David Curry Jon Hess Jay Jalbert Jim Keenan Chris Malone Jesse Hubbard Scott Urick Joe Ceglia (4, 0) (1, 2) (1, 2) (1, 1) (1, 0) (1, 0) (1, 0) (1, 0) Saves: Saves: Brian Carcaterra 15  (0.577) Steve Koudelka 14  (0.424) Current Record :     (10-5) Current Record :     (7-8) Team Page For 2002 Team Page For 2002       The Game Story:

LI Release:

The Long Island Lizards scored early and often, cruising to a 19-11 victory at Hofstra Stadim over the New Jersey Pride, clinching a berth in the second annual Major League Lacrosse Championship Game on September 1st in Columbus, OH. The Lizards went up 8-3 after the first quarter, and never looked back, easily holding on for the win.

Joe Ghedina started the game by winning the opening draw, and scoring on the Lizards first possession. Dave Curry responded for New Jersey by blasting a two-pointer, giving New Jersey their only lead of the game. The Lizards responded by scoring 10 of the next 11 goals, taking an 11-4 lead into the locker rooms.

The game was interrupted at halftime by a 80-minute delay for severe thunderstorms, but the skied cleared, and the game continued. New Jersey mounted a small run, winning the third quarter 4-3, and cutting the lead to 14-8 with only fifteen minutes remaining.

Ken Garcia helped put the Pride away in the fourth, scoring three of the Lizards five fourth quarter goals, giving Long Island an 18-8 lead with only nine minutes remaining in the Pride season. New Jersey scored three late in the game to close the gap, but the deficit was too great, and the Lizards milked the clock for the victory.

"It's a long summer for everybody. It's win or go home" said Lizards coach John DeTommaso. "We came out and played hard and intense, and we scored easy goals. It was truly a team effort."

Pat McCabe was named Bud Light MVP, playing phenomenal defense. "We did a good job. Our offense made our defense's job easy" said McCabe, who held the league leading scorer, Jesse Hubbard, to only one goal.

Ken Garcia led the Lizards offense, with four goals and two assists. Steve Sombrotto chipped in with two goals and three assists, the biggest night of his season. Brian Carcaterra was named SoBe Iron Lizard, with 15 saves.

New Jersey native Reid Jackson played the final game of his career tonight. "It was tough. I got all choked up with about a minute left". The Pride captain will retire after this season.

The Boston Cannons and Baltimore Bayhawks faceoff tomorrow, at 7:00 PM at Ravens Stadium in the other semi-final matchup. The winner will meet the Lizards on Sunday, September 1st, at Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH.


Bayhawk Release:

The Baltimore Bayhawks advanced to the Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Championship game for the second straight year with a 15 -10 victory over the Boston Cannons on Saturday evening. In 2001, the Bayhawks advanced to the Championship game with a 12-11 victory over Boston.

Goalkeeper Greg Cattrano led the Bayhawks' stifling first-half defense and earned Bud-Light MVP honors for his 23-save performance. It was the sixth time this season and eighth time in his career that he has won game MVP honors.

Baltimore gained as much as an 11-goal lead in the third quarter before Boston began inching its way back into the game. The Bayhawks were held scoreless for the final 18:35 and the Cannons closed the gap to 15-10 on a goal from midfielder Brian Silcott with 5:37 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Leading the scoring for the Bayhawks was Cantabene with two goals and one assist. Also scoring a pair of goals for the Bayhawks was Josh Sims, Mark Frye, Gary Gait, Sonke, and Shek. Regan led the scoring for the Cannons with four points, including one two-point goal, a goal and an assist. Boston's Silcott, Dusseau and Scott Doyle all had two points.

This will be the second straight year Baltimore will play Long Island for the MLL Championship. Last season the Bayhawks lost to the Lizards, 15?11, in the Championship. The Bayhawks are 0-2 against Long Island this season.

The Major League Lacrosse Championship will be played on Sunday, September 1 at 4 p.m. at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Tickets can be ordered at 1-866-MLL-TIXX and information can be found at www.majorleaguelacrosse.com.