Annapolis, MD—Midfielder Stephen Peyser scored the winning goal with 1:31 elapsed in overtime to lift the Chesapeake Bayhawks to a thrilling 12-11 victory over the New York Lizards at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.
“I’m glad Coach Cottle had the confidence to give me the ball there at the end,” said Peyser to Lacrosse Magazine. “I dodged from up top and we had a bunch of cutters to set picks. I got through to the middle of the field and it was just wide open. I had time and space to really focus on where I wanted to shoot.”
Peyser finished the night with only two points, but scored the most important goal on the season for the Bayhawks (1-1) in overtime last Saturday night. Although a low scoring game, Matt Mackrides, a midfielder playing his second straight game at attack in place of regular starter Drew Westervelt, led the team with four points consisting of three goals and a single assist. Kip Turner also had a huge game with 20 saves after being injured last week.
“We were better today, but we’re still not great. We’ve got a long way to go,” said Dave Cottle via the team press release. “We lost three overtime games last year so to be able to win our first one this season is a positive. It might be putting lipstick on a pig right now, but a win is a win and we’re happy to be 1-1.”
Greg Gurenlian dominated the faceoffs for New York, winning 19 of 26. Attackman Rob Pannell had two goals and an assist for the Lizards (1-1), who fell despite also winning the ground ball battle 39-24.
The Bayhawks next game is at the Charlotte (0-2) against the Hounds on Saturday, May 10 and tickets are on sale now at www.thebayhawks.com.
