The Edmonton Rush will host the Washington Stealth this evening at 9 p.m. The game marks the third meeting of the year between the western division foes after the teams split the first two match-ups.
Washington currently sits at second in the western division with a 4-3 record. Leading the Stealth this season has been Rhys Duch. Duch tops the Stealth in scoring with 33 points including a league high 18 goals
Accompanying Duch in the Stealth’s offensive unit are the high scoring trio of Cliff Smith, Lewis Ratcliff and Athan Iannucci who sit second, third and fourth on Washington in scoring, respectively. Iannucci led the Stealth offensively with six points in last week’s win over the Mammoth, while Ratcliff posted five points in the victory. Smith sits second on the Stealth in points with 28, including a team high in assists with 17. The lefty is in the midst of a breakout season, already reaching a career season-high in goals with 11 tallies thus far.
The Stealth’s defense has been particular impressive during the 2013 campaign. Reigning defensive player of the week Tyler Richards turned aside 51 of 57 shots in the win against Colorado and leads all NLL goalies with a 10.01 goals against average.
Washington’s defense also features three of top five league leaders in forced turnovers. Kyle Sorenson leads all defenders with 16 forced turnovers on the year, while Matt Beers and rookie Tyler Garrison trail closely behind.
The Edmonton Rush are currently at the bottom of the western division standings with a 1-4 record. The Rush’s 18-10 victory against the Stealth earlier in the season stands as the team’s lone win.
Edmonton lost a heartbreaker to province rival Calgary Roughnecks last week, dropping the contest 9-8 off a Roughnecks goal with under a minute remaining.
Rookie of the Month Mark Matthews is tied with Ryan Ward for Edmonton’s scoring lead with 25 points a piece. Matthews had a nine point performance in Edmonton’s only win and leads the team in goals with 12.
This evening’s game is the first of two for Edmonton this weekend, as they will traveling to Colorado for a Saturday nigh battle with the Mammoth.
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