Game Preview - Barrage at Lizards 6-16-07

By Tom Hoffman

Looking to continue their perfect start to the 2007 MLL season, the Philadelphia Barrage (3-0) travel to Uniondale, NY to square off with the Long Island Lizards (2-1) on Saturday afternoon. Faceoff at Mitchel Field is at 1 PM.

All Time

The Barrage are 7-11 all time against the Lizards, 5-3 since moving to Philadelphia. The Barrage are only 2-6 on the road versus Long Island, both wins coming in the last three seasons. Last season Philadelphia swept the season series 2-0. On June 17, the Barrage won 13-12 on a B.J. Prager goal with 3:22 remaining in regulation time after coming back from an early 8-0 deficit. Brian Dougherty made 20 saves in the comeback win. At Villanova Stadium on July 20, the Barrage pulled out a 10-8 victory. Justin Smith scored a hat trick to lead Philadelphia. Both squads played minus key players that night due to the ILF World Field Championships being played in London, Ontario.

Last Game

Ryan Boyle turned in another MVP performance as the Barrage defeated the Boston Cannons 16-13 at USTC in Downingtown before a crowd of 2,403. Boyle led the way with four goals and two assists, scoring the game winner, while Matt Striebel and Justin Smith each scored three times and Michael Springer dished out four assists along with a goal. Seth Goldberg made his Barrage debut scoring twice in place of Roy Colsey, who missed the game due to illness. Andy Corno won 17 of 31 faceoffs for Philadelphia. Brett Bucktooth led the Cannons with four goals.

Bragging Rights

When the Barrage and Lizards meet, there is usually quite a bit of trash talking and very spirited play. A number of players on both teams live on Long Island and several have played for both teams adding to the rivalry. Lizards Blake Miller, Nicky Polanco and Keith Cromwell helped the Barrage win the championship in 2004 while Brian Dougherty helped lead the Lizards to the 2003 title.

Quotes

Barrage A Ryan Boyle:

On the team's start: " Any time you go 3-0, especially within the division, it's good. It sets you up for later on in the season, that's what's really important. It urges you to stay focused and realize these wins now could play a huge factor come the playoffs."

On the Boston game: "It was tough without Roy, he's such a big part of our offense. I think a lot of guys tried to do too much early, myself included. Finally when they (Boston) made their run and tied it and took the the lead it was time for certain players on offense to step up. I just tried not to force anything, tried to let the game come to me. It seemed to work out well. I put myself in situations where I could make some plays and fortunately i was able to bury some shots."

Barrage Coach Tony Resch on the difference between coaching the team in 2005 and this year's team, both as defending champions:

"I think it's the familiarity in both directions. It's tough to come back with a championship team in any situation but when you're a new coach with a returning championship team there's going to be a bit of a feeling out process. Both sides struggled with that in 2005 and then in 2006 I adjusted my expectations and they (the players) figured out what I was about so we found the middle ground. This year, I think we're very comfortable with each other. We have the kind of guys back who know their roles within the team so that's always an advantage."

Next Game

The Barrage stay on the road as they travel to Rochester to face the Rattlers on June 23 at PAETEC Park.

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