A disappointing end to a disappointing season

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Wings closed out their worst season since the National Lacrosse League schedule went to 16 games Friday night falling to the Orlando Titans 11-5 before a sparse gathering announced at 8,656 at the Wachovia Center. The Wings looked like a team that was eliminated from playoff contention as their effort in the season finale was quite sluggish and uninspired.

Actually neither team looked like they wanted to be playing as the first half was listless, the teams tied at two after the first 15 minutes and still tied, this time three all, at halftime. Philly was lucky to be tied at half as the Titans were outshooting them 30-24 in the first half. The third quarter was where the game began to fall apart for the Wings as Orlando, behind Game MVP Casey Powell, outscored the Wings 4-0 and held a 15-9 shot advantage. Powell scored three of the four Titan goals in the third while adding his third assist of the night on Tim O'Brien's fourth quarter goal that gave the Titans a 9-3 lead and sent may of the Wings fans to the exits. The teams split the game's final four goals but the clock finally ran out on a Wings Season many would like to forget.

Drew Westervelt led the Wings puny offense with a pair of goals and an assist while Brandon Miller made 43 saves. The Titans, playing back to back games this weekend and heading to Minnesota Saturday, gave Matt Vinc the night off and Kurtis Wagar responded with a 40 save performance. For the Wings, a long offseason now begins and it's an offseason of much uncertainty. Not exactly how they wanted to head into the franchise's 25th season. The final record of 5-11 is the teams fewest wins in a 16 game season and their fewest since going 5-7 in 1999

2010 Wings Lacrosse Game 16 (vs Orlando 4-23-10)

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Wings (5-10) will seek to bring the 2010 National Lacrosse League season to an end on a winning note when they face the Orlando Titans Friday night at 7 PM at the Wachovia Center. The game can be seen on the NLL Network.

History

The Wings are 4-6 overall against the Titans including an 0-2 mark this season. Orlando won both previous meetings at home, opening the 2010 season with a 13-8 victory on January 8 and following that up with an 11-9 win on March 12. Drew Westervelt leads the Wings against Orlando in 2010 with six goals and two assists. while Jordan Hall leads the Titans with 11 points on two goals and nine assists. The Wings are 2-2 at home against Orlando but have lost the last two meetings in Philadelphia.

Last Game

After seeing an early 3-0 lead evaporate, the Wings came from behind in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Minnesota Swarm 5-2, to tie the game at 12 and force overtime. Geoff Snider scored his fourth goal of the night 3:12 into the extra session and gave the Wings a 13-12 win over the Swarm Saturday evening at the Xcel Energy Center. Orlando defeated Buffalo 9-7 last Friday at Amway Arena in the Titans regular season home finale. The Titans will be the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Wings Home records (last five seasons)

2009: 4-4

2008: 7-1

2007: 4-4

2006: 5-3

2005: 3-5

Notes

With a hat trick last week at Minnesota, John Christmas set a new career high in goals (7) in one season (previous was 5 in 2008) while Geoff Snider also set a high in goals scored (19) with his four goal evening.

Drew Westervelt, with 30 goals and Bill McGlone, with 18 goals, each need five goals to establish new career highs.

Brandon Miller needs to play 41 minutes to set a career high in minutes played (previous was 865 in 2007).

Next Game

The 2011 season.