HEMPSTEAD, New York – The Ohio Machine were defeated Saturday in the final minute against the New York Lizards at James M. Shuart Stadium at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. The defeat marked the seventh straight loss for Ohio, but head coach Bear Davis is looking at the positives.
“We’ve had our 11th different lineup,” Davis said. “We had two new guys come in and I thought they played well. Our veterans are trying to adjust to that but again, the rookies are starting to make big time plays, and guys are playing out of position a little bit, and they adjust to that. We moved [attackman Justin Guterding] to the X-attack tonight and he played great. We’ve just got to finish. We’ve got to keep working to get better.”
It was a night to remember for Guterding, as he opened up the scoring just 36 seconds in, adding one later in the first quarter. Guterding is a native of nearby Garden City, NY, five minutes away from Hofstra. With midfielder Ryan Keenan adding one and attackmen Mark Matthews and Marcus Holman each scoring a pair shortly after, the Sheens opened up a 7-2 lead.
But New York stormed back, adding five straight to tie the game 7-7. Keenan would score late in the second quarter to put Ohio up 8-7 heading into halftime.
In the second half, Guterding would add two more goals, to give him a career-high four goals, with the second pushing the Sheens out to a 13-10 lead. Lizards midfielder Paul Rabil scored a 2-pointer to cut Ohio’s lead to 13-12 before the teams traded goals, with Matthews scoring for the Machine to complete a hat trick. New York finished the game scoring two goals in the final four minutes to take the victory.
Goaltender Kyle Bernlohr finished with 16 saves in the game, marking his fourth straight 15+ save game.
“I think Kyle has been consistent all season,” Davis said. “He’s one of the best goalies in the league so I don’t expect anything less from him. Every time he steps out on the field, he competes.”
The Ohio Machine split this season’s series against the Lizards 1-1. The Machine fall to 2-8 and the Lizards improve to 5-5.
Next up for the Machine is a trip to Florida as they take on the Launch on Saturday, July 7 at 7:00 p.m.
