The Panther City Lacrosse Club jumped out to a three-goal lead in the second quarter and held on the rest of the way to earn a 11-8 win over the Las Vegas Desert Dogs on Saturday night. The victory puts PCLC (8-5) solidly in third place in the West Conference while the Desert Dogs (4-8) remain in sixth place.
After an early PCLC tally from Callum Crawford, the Desert Dogs took over the first quarter, scoring three of the next four goals and emerging from the quarter with a 3-2 lead.
The teams traded scores in the first six minutes of the second frame, but then Panther City got on a roll. Phil Caputo scored his first of two on the night, followed just seven seconds later by Tyler Burton winning the face off, attacking the Dogs net and potting one of his own. PCLC would add two more in the quarter to take a 7-4 lead to the locker room.
Vegas pushed hard to get back in the game in the third quarter. Zack Greer scored twice to bring the Desert Dogs within one, but PCLC’s Mathieu Gautier broke up the mini-run with his second of the night. Charlie Bertrand brought Las Vegas back to within one again with a minute left in the period, but that was as close as they would get.
PCLC regained the momentum to begin the final quarter, adding two more goals in the first five minutes to bring their lead back to three. The Desert Dogs got one back a few minutes later, but an empty netter from Josh Medeiros sealed the deal for Panther City.
PCLC’s Will Malcom led all scorers on the night with six points (1 goal, 5 assists) while Las Vegas was paced by Rob Hellyer (1 G, 4 A). In net, Nick Damude made 35 saves for Panther City to earn the win; Landon Kells turned aside 34 shots for the Desert Dogs.
Panther City’s next action is on Friday when they host the conference-leading San Diego Seals. Las Vegas returns home Saturday night to face the Rochester Knighthawks.
