Cannons Lacrosse Club struggled against Atlas LC on Sunday afternoon at Homewood Field, losing 18-17 despite a valiant effort from Lyle Thompson at the buzzer. Thompson went for a 2-pointer, which would have given the Cannons the win, but he was tackled onto the field by Michael Rexrode.
Most surprising in the game was that Thompson was held to two assists. A goalless game has only happened one other time in his professional career. His goal scoring wizardry was definitely missed by the Cannons who were unable to pull off a victory.
But Thompson wasn’t the story of this game. That was rookie Jeff Teat, in Atlas colours, who seemed to turn all of his frustration from not scoring in Friday night’s debut into a stellar show-stopping goal-scoring event all his own. He scored SEVEN goals and had two assists, and was, at times, seemingly unstoppable. Almost as remarkable was the fact that EVERY offensive player on Atlas scored at least one goal. Brent Adams had three points. Romar Dennis, Jake Carraway, Mark Cockerton and Eric Law all had two points. In fact, you wouldn’t have known that most of these guys were doing this for the second time this weekend.
Atlas also found their way in the defensive zone. They recorded 13 caused turnovers while scooping up 19 ground balls. Seven of those ground balls were captured by Craig Chick. Jack Concannon made six saves in the win. Trevor Baptiste won a solid 69 per cent of the faceoffs.
For the Cannons, Nick Marrocco made 18 saves. Andrew Kew was the offensive leader with five points (3G/2A) on the afternoon. Three players had four points – Ryan Drenner, Connor Buczek and Paul Rabil. Rabil was working all parts of the field as he put some solid hits on more than one player.
The defense had 11 caused turnovers and 21 ground balls, but unfortunately it seemed like they were struggling with coming together as an entire team versus playing individual roles.
As mentioned, Teat struggled in his debut for Atlas. Social media had a lot to say when he did not come roaring into the Premier Lacrosse League Friday night dropping a lot of goals. But, he found his way to the back of the goal cage on Sunday using a variety of strategies, saying post-game that he “felt better physically” and that perhaps on Friday he “was maybe taking it in a little too much.” It is evident that he was able to adjust his game and show fans – and himself – that he can compete in the PLL.
And if it seemed like Teat was out of breath? Not to worry. Sunday’s high humidity and temperatures reminded everyone of what it’s like to play outside in the summer. Hopefully it cools down for the clubs as they continue their traveling tour.
Atlas may not have been comfortable with the one goal differential, but a win is a win.
Head coach Ben Rubeor compared the win to the dinner the team had the night prior, where they ate family-style.
“There’s enough food to go around for everyone and I thought that’s how the offense played.”
Atlas plays against Chrome next Sunday, July 4, while the Cannons play Saturday against Chaos.
