Blaze upended by New York's fourth-quarter burst

KENNESAW -- In a game which featured five lead-changes and nine ties, the Atlanta Blaze lost a hard-fought rematch 20-17 to the New York Lizards on a warm and humid Saturday evening at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

Playing for the second time this season, following Atlanta’s 16-14 win May 6 in Hempstead, New York, the rematch was closely contested.

With the score locked up at 14-all going into the fourth quarter, New York attackman Will Manny opened the period by scoring his fourth goal of the evening, as the Lizards (3-3) took the lead. A quick goal from Joel Tinney and a two-goal burst from Rob Pannell gave New York an 18-14 lead, making a potential comeback effort that much harder for the Blaze (3-3).

Though Atlanta did attempt to fight back with goals from rookies Connor Kelly and Christian Cuccinello, Manny scored his fifth goal of the night to give the Lizards a decisive 20-17 lead.

“The MLL is a game of runs, and you have to limit them,” Blaze coach Liam Banks said. “They hurt us in transition (Saturday), and we didn’t pick up the ball off the ground, but we put the rookies in big-time situations, and I thought they responded really well.”

Atlanta was led in scoring by Kevin Rice, who contributed three goals and three assists. Cuccinello and Kelly made an impact in their professional debuts, each scoring twice.

“We have a lot to build from,” Rice said. “I think we have a lot of talent and a great draft class. Credit to the Lizards, ’cause they got us (Saturday).”

New York midfielder Kevin Unterstein opened the scoring as the Lizards took a quick lead ahead of a back-and-forth first half. As the second quarter drew to a close with the score tied at 7-all, Unterstein scored again to start a three-goal surge for the Lizards, who appeared to be taking control of the game with a 10-7 lead.

Atlanta, however, came back with a strong response, scoring the game’s next six goals to take a 14-10 lead before the Lizards scored the next four to even the score going into the final quarter.

The Blaze’s scoring surge was sparked when new faceoff specialist Joe Nardella, who was acquired in a midweek trade with the Boston Cannons. Nardella won the resulting faceoff following New York’s 10th goal and took the ball up the field to score his first goal for Atlanta.

“It’s a different experience playing here,” Nardella said, “and the first thing that strikes me is the heat.”

Despite the loss, Nardella came out on top on 23 of the 41 faceoffs he contested. He felt he and the Atlanta midfielders were able to develop good initial chemistry on the field.

“I only think it can improve from here,” Nardella said. “We got a lot of transition off of the faceoffs, which was really good to see.”

Though Atlanta was unable to pull out of the victory, there remains reason for optimism. The Blaze are tied with New York for fourth in the MLL standings.

“We still scored 17 goals in the game,” Banks said, “and now we’re going to shake things up in between the lines and get ready for a tough game next week against Charlotte.”