Zywicki leads short-handed Stealth to victory over Swarm

Tonight the Stealth seeks to solidify their undefeated record against the Minnesota Swarm (1-3).  The Stealth return home to face a lack luster Swarm squad.   It was a game complete with excitement, fights and a six person Green Man squad.  Minnesota still has not found any team chemistry enough to make them a contender.  However, “any team can beat any team in the NLL,” said Stealth forward Rhys Duch.  The crowd was estimated at 3,500, as the mythical season continues.

1st Quarter
Forward Jeff Zywicki scores quickly with one minute into the game, drawing first blood and Luke Wiles scores off the ensuing face off putting the Stealth up 2-0 only two minutes into the game.  The Stealth are working a strong left 3-2 giving lefty shooters like Sedgwick and Ratcliff opportunity to shoot.  Minnesota is having difficulty keeping up with the Stealth tempo; the transition and defense are out running much of the Swarm team. 

However, the Swarm gets on the board with five minutes to go in the quarter.  Paul Rabil comes up with a loose ball on face off and gets triple teamed.  He uses his brute strength and famous swim dodges to power through the ball and get it to the offense.  With seconds remaining, Sedgwick gets an inside feed from Duch. There is six seconds left in the quarter, yet the Stealth keep the intensity up as Jason Bloom sneaks a shot past the keeper right as the buzzer sounds.  However, it was called a no goal by the referees. 

2nd Quarter
Minnesota finds some momentum in the second quarter with forward Callum Crawford.  He ties the game at 4-4 with five minutes remaining.  Crawford is the Swarms catalyst he racks up a hat trick after he makes a spectacular corkscrew shot past Stealth keeper Matt Roik.  The teams battle each other for much of the quarter and both teams start losing their gear- helmets, sticks and gloves come flying.  There were a few near brawls throughout the first half, but officials diffused them.  The rest of the quarter was slow, as the Stealth offense was out of sync.  The team was also playing short handed, with only a 14 man roster.  Forwards were needed to play defense to give the starters a rest.

Halftime score 6-5 Stealth

3rd Quarter
The action starts before the beginning face off.  At the restraining line Eric Martin and Ryan Cousins start brawling.  The two hit the floor and the officials break them up, Cousins is visibly bleeding after the exchange.  Jeff Zywicki gets in on the scoring and racks up a hat trick and then another right after.

During a defensive stand, Paul Rabil draws some fire from the Swarm team after cheap shot starts a multiple player fight. Rabil is slammed with holding, fighting and game misconduct penalties and puts the Stealth man-down for seven minutes.  The Stealth defense makes a stand only allowing one goal by the Swarm before the quarter ends.  The Stealth will have to kill 2 more minutes in the forth quarter.  The Stealth is the number one penalty kill team in the league and it showcases the depth and versatility of the Stealth. 

4th Quarter    
Washington gets some energy under their feet after they kill the remaining Rabil penalty.  When the Stealth penalty was released, they got even with the Swarm and started a scoring spree with two goals from Rhys Duch and one from Mike Grimes.  The Stealth offense found its momentum and started a scoring spree with two goals from Rhys Duch and one from Mike Grimes. Minnesota’s pick and roll offense was ineffective at penetrating the Stealth defense.  The short handed defensive squad held its own against the Swarm.  Goalie Matt Roik made some critical forth quarter saves, allowing Washington to maintain its lead.  Peter Morgan finished off scoring with goal with his off hand.  Jamieson Koesterer was superb again at the face off x, winning 21 out of 26 face offs for the Stealth.  Matt Roik gave a great performance making 29 saves. 

“We know Minnesota is going to be pissed off when we play them next week, they’re going to be desperate and we have to win out,” said Jeff Zywicki who was named Game MVP.  Washington is currently 6-0 in the NLL.  It is great to see team from Washington no matter the sport sitting on top ranked, good thing is lacrosse for all you Walax readers.  The Stealth plays the Swarm again next week at Minnesota on February 13. You can watch the game streaming live at NLL.com at 5:35 ET

Players of the Game:

Jeff Zywicki- 4g, 4a
Stealth Defense- for their intensity and playing short handed