LIZARDS defeat NJ PRIDE 23-16
(8/10/03 - Uniondale, NY) - The Long Island Lizards (8-3) clinched their third
consecutive American Division Championship, as they defeated the New 
Jersey Pride (6-5) for the second straight week, 23-16, in front of 3,122 fans at
Mitchel Field. Tim Goettelmann was named Bud Light MVP, scoring a league record nine goals on only ten shots, a 90%
shooting percentage. Jay Jalbert was also impressive, scoring four goals and adding a league record 19
ground balls in the victory.
Jay Jalbert scored four goals in the first quarter, as the Lizards build a 7-1 lead on their metropolitan rivals.
Tim Goettelmann added three goals in
the period, but Dan Chemotti and Scott Urick scored to cut the score to 7-3 
after the first quarter. Urick and Jesse Hubbard scored power play goals to
start the second, cutting the lead to 7-6, but the Lizards rattled off four straight goals,
by Tim Goettelmann, Chris Massey, Conor Denihan and Kevin
Finneran, jumping to an 11-6 advantage.
Hubbard scored another pair, and Urick followed it up to make the score 11-9 at halftime.
The teams traded goals throughout the third quarter, until Long Island went on a six goal run, turning a
14-11 lead into a 20-11 lead early in the fourth quarter. Goettelmann scored the game-winner halfway
through the scoring run, which put the Pride away.
Kevin Lowe racked up four assists for Long Island,
and added one goal, a spectacular floater shot towards the end of the third quarter that easily
beat Trevor Tierney, who left the game moments later. Tierney recorded 13 saves and allowed 19 goals in
three quarters, while Brian Dougherty racked by 17 saves and allowed 11 goals in 52-plus minutes.
Chris Cercy was granted the New Balance Sportsmanship Award. The faceoff specialist recorded one goal and one assist, and won 24 of 42
faceoffs for the Lizards.
The Baltimore Bayhawks clinched the National Division tonight as a result of the New Jersey loss. The
Lizards host Baltimore next Sunday in the season finale, at Mitchel Field, at 6:00 PM. The winner of that game will
be the first seeded team in the playoffs, while the loser will be seeded second.
Long Island will play either New Jersey or Boston in the semi-finals. The Pride host Boston on Thursday at Commerce Bank Ballpark.
Score by Periods 1 2 3 4 Total
New Jersey 3 6 3 4 16
Long Island 7 4 8 4 23
First Quarter: Scoring: 1, Long Island, Jalbert 29 (pp) (Haugen), 0:53. 2, Long
Island, Jalbert 30, 1:21. 3, Long Island, Goettelmann 21 (Massey), 1:49. 4, Long
Island, Jalbert 31, 4:19. 5, New Jersey, Urick 33 (Hubbard), 5:07. 6, Long Island, Goettelmann 22 (Gagliardi), 5:54. 7, Long Island, Jalbert 32, 11:23. 8,
Long Island, Goettelmann 23 (Finneran), 11:53. 9, New Jersey, Chemotti 9, 13:37.
10, New Jersey, Urick 34 (Hubbard), 14:17. Penalties: Chemotti, NJ (Pushing);
McClay, NJ (Slashing).
Second Quarter: Scoring: 11, New Jersey, Hubbard 40 (Garrison), 0:33. 12, New Jersey, Hubbard 41 (pp) (Garrison), 1:16. 13, New Jersey, Urick 35 (pp)
(Hubbard), 3:11. 14, Long Island, Goettelmann 24 (Finneran), 3:32. 15, Long Island, Massey 20 (McCabe), 3:55. 16, Long Island, Denihan 11, 5:54. 17, Long
Island, Finneran 8 (Lowe), 6:31. 18, New Jersey, Hubbard 42 (2 pts), 8:29. 19, New Jersey, Urick 36, 9:34. Penalties: Gagliardi, LI (Cross Checking); Massey,
LI (Offsides); Curry, NJ (Unsportsmanlike Conduct); Sombrotto, LI (Unsportsmanlike Conduct); Stilley, NJ (Slashing).
Third Quarter: Scoring: 20, Long Island, Denihan 12 (Lowe), 2:38. 21, Long Island, Goettelmann 25, 3:41. 22, New Jersey, Hubbard 43, 4:15. 23, Long Island,
Cercy 1, 4:26. 24, New Jersey, Hubbard 44 (pp) (Curry), 6:02. 25, New Jersey, Traynor 12 (pp) (Urick), 6:59. 26, Long Island, Goettelmann 26 (Haugen), 10:00.
27, Long Island, Denihan 13 (McCavera), 10:49. 28, Long Island, Goettelmann 27 (Sombrotto), 11:22. 29, Long Island, McCavera 16 (Cercy), 11:32. 30, Long
Island, Lowe 13, 13:11. Penalties: Denihan, LI (Unsportsmanlike Conduct).
Fourth Quarter: Scoring: 31, Long Island, Goettelmann 28 (Lowe), 1:33. 32, New
Jersey, Hubbard 45, 3:10. 33, Long Island, Haugen 26 (Lowe), 3:27. 34, Long Island, Goettelmann 29, 4:12. 35, New Jersey, Urick 37 (Jacobs), 4:52. 36, New
Jersey, Keenan 3 (Curry), 6:50. 37, New Jersey, Hubbard 46 (Traynor), 7:54. 38, Long Island, Massey 21
(Denihan), 11:54.
Shots on Goal 1 2 3 4 Tot
New Jersey 12 16 17 7 52
Long Island 15 12 12 13 52
Power-play Conversions: New Jersey - 4 of 4, Long Island - 1 of 3. New Jersey, Tierney (32 shots, 13 saves; record: 6-5), Twomey (8, 4). Long Island, Dougherty
(32, 17; record: 8-2), LaMonica (2, 2). A:3,122. Officials: Palumb, Buckley, O'Leary.
Long Island leads the all-time series, 4-3. Both teams have clinched the postseason. The Boston Cannons stayed in the American Division Championship race, and clinched a playoff berth with a 21-15 win over the Bridgeport Barrage (1-10) on Thursday night. One Long Island victory or Boston loss will clinch the Division Title for the Lizards, as Long Island holds the
tie breakers.
REMAINING MLL REGULAR SEASON GAMES
8/14 – Rochester at Bridgeport, 7:00 PM
8/14 – Boston at New Jersey, 7:30 PM
8/17 – Baltimore at Long Island, 6:00 PM
Jersey Pride (6-5) for the second straight week, 23-16, in front of 3,122 fans at
Mitchel Field. Tim Goettelmann was named Bud Light MVP, scoring a league record nine goals on only ten shots, a 90%
shooting percentage. Jay Jalbert was also impressive, scoring four goals and adding a league record 19
ground balls in the victory.
after the first quarter. Urick and Jesse Hubbard scored power play goals to
start the second, cutting the lead to 7-6, but the Lizards rattled off four straight goals,
by Tim Goettelmann, Chris Massey, Conor Denihan and Kevin
Finneran, jumping to an 11-6 advantage.
Hubbard scored another pair, and Urick followed it up to make the score 11-9 at halftime.
