By Richard Adragna
UNIONDALE – For the New York Titans, one of the newest teams in the National Lacrosse League, and their head coach Andy Mueller, one-goal losses and failed late rallies have become all too familiar. Saturday’s game against fellow NLL cellar-dwellers, the San Jose Stealth, was no exception.
NLL points leader Casey Powell had two goals and two assists and Gewas Schindler and Mike McLellan led the charge for a furious 4th quarter rally, but they were not enough as the Stealth won 12-11, with two-goal performances coming from five different players in their active roster. Matt Vinc had 28 saves for the Titans while Anthony Cosmo had 42 for the Stealth.
Prior to Saturday night’s match-up, the Titans (1-8) have experienced one too many close defeats and late rallies put to a screeching halt in games against Arizona and Minnesota, not to mention a heartbreaking loss at the last minute in their first meeting with the Minnesota Swarm.
Overall, the Titans are experiencing a frustrating season that can be affiliated with expansion teams. However, coach Mueller knows that the team is capable of better things.
“It’s frustrating,” said Mueller. “We always manage to come back in the last minutes, yet it never seems to work. I can come up with a bunch of clichés but we’re a good team. We just never take advantage of the opportunities.”
Missed opportunities and a weak defense have stifled New York in a battle between last-place franchises. What killed them even more was Powell’s 10-minute unsportsmanlike misconduct penalty, which deprived the Titans of the league’s points and assists leader.
The Stealth (2-5) jumped on the board with Luke Wiles scoring the first goal on a power play. The Titans then lead 2-1 thanks to goals by Brendan Mundorf and Powell. The lead was short-lived and never regained as Jeff Zywicki tied it up at two and goals by Cam Sedgwick, Colin Doyle, and Andrew Burkholder followed as the first quarter ended.
The Titans got second quarter goals from Powell, McLellan, and Ryan Boyle, but two goals from San Jose’s Gary Rosyski were enough to give the Stealth a lead at the half.
In the second half after 5:10, the Titans jumped on the board with a goal from Greg Peyser. Fourteen seconds later, Jeff Spano tallied another goal for the Titans to tie the game at seven apiece. However, that lasted short of a minute when Luke Wiles scored past Vinc to regain the lead for the Stealth. Doyle added another goal near the end of the quarter to put the Stealth ahead.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Pat Maddalena got the Titans to within one goal, but eight seconds later, Ian Hawksbee countered with a goal of his own. His goal was followed by goals from Sedgwick and Zywicki. Then came the furious Titans rally, first with two goals from Schindler and another one from McLellan, but they were too little too late.
Despite what the Titans had to go through so far this season, there is one thing that is certain according from coach Mueller.
“These kids don’t give up,” said Mueller. “That’s the only positive, but it’s seriously getting old. One of these days, when we get a better team, we can play a full 60 minutes.”
Game NotesAlong with the fact that the Titans play half of their home games on their schedule at the Nassau Coliseum, down the road from Hofstra, three of their players on their active roster have once played for the Pride early in their lacrosse careers. The three players are Joe Ghedina, Blake Miller, and John Orsen.