Nassau Coliseum was vibing Saturday night as the New York Riptide took the floor for their final home game this season. On the other side, the Georgia Swarm came in as winners of three of their last four games and are playing their best lacrosse this season. Fans in attendance would be in for a treat as Lyle Thompson faced off against Jeff Teat. That right there is worth the price of admission.
Georgia blew the doors off New York to begin the game and did not look back. Thompson and Andrew Kew carried the load, as Georgia beat New York 13-8.
The Swarm opened up the first quarter with a six-goal run. Scorers were Lyle Thompson twice, one of which was on the power play, Zach Miller, Mike Manley, Seth Oakes, and Jordan MacIntosh. Talk about spreading the wealth. Stunned silence at the Coliseum. Mike Burke finally got the Riptide on the board with a nice twister. Andrew Kew must have felt left out, as he got his first of the game to close out the quarter. 7-1 Swarm after one. That was a lot of goals, but it should be said that Brett Dobson saw a ton of shots from New York and was spectacular.
Georgia continued their momentum to begin the second as they scored two straight. The first was from Thompson, giving him his hat trick, and the other was Kew’s second. If you’re the Swarm, you’re obviously ecstatic with your performance and how you’ve kept Teat and company under raps thus far. Teat changed that with his first of the game, but was quickly answered by Kew’s hat trick on the power play. New York rattled off three straight, two from Teat giving him a hat trick, and the other from Scott Dominey. Brendan Bomberry got his first of the game in the final minute to make it 11-5 Georgia going into the break.
As previously stated, Dobson was very sharp in the first half and was a big reason Georgia had the cushion they did. The young netminder made 19 saves on 24 shots. On the other side, there was some trouble in net. Cameron Dunkerley was removed and Steve Orleman came on. The combo made 20 saves on 31 shots.
Dunkerley went back in net to start the third. The second half was the polar opposite of the first. Georgia really shut this one down and sulked it away. Teat got his fourth of the game to start, but that’d be it for the Riptide in the third quarter. Kew got his fourth and fifth to make it 13-6 Swarm with 10:45 to play. That’s how the score would stay, the rest of the way was an exceptional performance by the Swarm defense and Dobson.
New York made the scoreboard look a little better in the fourth. The Riptide pitched a shutout in the quarter and tallied two more goals. The first was from Tyler Digby and the second was from Connor Kearnan on the power play. Unfortunately for them, that wouldn’t cut it. Your final from Uniondale, 13-8 Georgia.
Players of the game for Georgia were Kew (5 G, 4 A), Thompson (3 G, 4 A), and Bomberry (1 G, 2 A). Shayne Jackson also tallied six assists. Dobson showed the poise of a veteran all game long, stopping 42 of 50 for the game. For New York, Teat (4 G, 3 A), Burke (1 G, 2 A), and Kearnan (1 G, 2 A) led the way. Dunkerley struggled, but was sharp at moments. He made 26 saves on 36 shots in 47:07 of game play. Orleman made 12 saves on 15 shots in his 12:53 of relief.
“I think we just came out and had a good start really,” said Kew after the game. “Dobber was really good in the net tonight and was an anchor for us. Good game overall. We know our situation now and each game down the stretch is like a playoff game, we just have to come out start to finish like we did today.”
Georgia (4-8) continued their hot play as of late and kept their slim playoff hopes alive. They travel back home to Duluth to take on New York (4-10) in the second game of their home-and-home. That game is Friday night at 7 pm.
