The on-again, off-again relationship that Waterdogs LC has with winning was on again this weekend, with the ‘Dogs going 2-0 to improve their record to 4-3 after defeating Chrome 12-6 on Sunday evening. Pressure seems to be the name of the game for Waterdogs, as all of their wins have come on weekends when they play twice.
Dillon Ward was on fire, making save after save in the early going. One slipped past him, but Ryan Brown tied the game late in the first, scoring a bounce shot while being pushed to the ground by James Barclay.
Chrome went up by a pair in the second, but the first goals of the game from Connor Kelly and Kieran McArdle tied it 3-3. A wicked sidearm shot from Mikie Schlosser, his first of three, gave the Waterdogs a lead they never relinquished. His second came late in the half after he muscled through a pair of defenders to beat John Galloway. McArdle gave the ‘Dogs a 7-4 lead at the half, scoring with less than a second left on the clock.
MacIntosh and Reeves upped the lead to five goals. Nobody stopped Schlosser as he ran in from half-field, halfway through the third quarter, for the hat trick goal. Five seconds later, Jake Withers converted his faceoff win into a goal for an 11-4 lead. In the dying seconds of the third, Zach Currier stripped Chrome of the ball and passed to Chris Sabia who bounced in the Waterdog’s 12th goal with the long pole.
The third quarter was a shutout for Ward, who was great again in the second half. Though the Waterdogs were then shut out in the fourth, Ward was able to hold Chrome to just three goals to preserve the lead.
Schlosser (3G), Kelly (2G) and McArdle (2G) led the Waterdogs offensively. Ward ended up with nine saves for a .600 save percentage.
Jordan MacIntosh led Chrome with four of his team’s six goals. Galloway ended with 16 saves as the Waterdogs were relentless in heading towards the cage.
After the All-Star Break, the Waterdogs next faceoff against the floundering Whipsnakes on Saturday, July 31, at 10 p.m. while Chrome plays Friday, July 30 at 9 p.m. against Atlas.
