The Georgia Swarm came buzzing into Philadelphia Friday night and flew away with the 11-6 win. The Wings soared into Georgia on Saturday and lifted the hopes of the Philly fans with a 9-5 victory.
Saturday’s win was W in the books. And it was also a morale boost for many players, coaches, and fans. The Wings played 4 solid quarters of lacrosse. They also managed to prevent their opponents from scoring for half the game!
Dalton Young had a 5 point game with 3 goals and 2 assists. This was a much needed offensive performance for Philadelphia. Nick Damude stopped 48 of the shots he faced. He also recorded his 3,000 save recently—and he added to that this weekend!
As mentioned, the relief from the players, coaches, and fans was palpable. The head coach for the Wings did not attend the press conference Friday night. The players (veterans and new guys) as well as coaches expressed their frustrations over not being able to put the pieces together for a complete game. Saturday night it looked like they were finally able to do that.
Friday night the Wings held their own until Georgia had enough and clipped the Wings. As usual, Lyle Thompson did Lyle Thompson things as he swarmed around the floor. Georgia outscored Philadelphia in every quarter except quarter number 2–when they each scored 4.
Brett Dobson looked like the MVP of the Swarm stopping some incredible shots by Philly. He ended up with 39 saves on the night. And Nolan Byrne was buzzing on offense for the Swarm. His hat trick was enough to clip the Wings of Philadelphia.
One of the grittiest Philadelphia players, Phil Caputo spoke to the media after Friday’s loss. “It was one of our better offensive performances. We outshot our opponent. Finally. We tip our cap to Dobson. He made some great saves when he needed to. We’re getting to our spots. We just need to perform.”
They did just that on Saturday night.
The Wings next face the Oshawa Firewolves in another Sunday afternoon game that will be a tribute to Taylor Swift and her style of music. Hopefully this will bring the fans to their feet while motivating the guys to get another win!
