March 10, 2010
On Friday March 7, the Hawks travelled to Flagstaff to take on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. NAU helmed by a new coach and with the addition of several stellar players, gave FLC a battler from the first whistle. After a week off, Mat Lindsley tallied the first goal of the game giving the Hawks an emotional boost. The Lumberjacks came back with two transitional goals midway through the first quarter to take the lead. Feeder phenom Erick Johnson found close shot specialist Andy Grenhart to tie it up heading into the second period.
The Hawk’s settled offense and settled defense showed great improvements as FLC controlled the possessions during the majority of the game. Unfortunately, the Lumberjack’s goalie was on fire, making incredibly athletic saves, then rocketing the ball to the midfield for a devastating transition game, and NAU was able to tie the score 7 to 7 at half.
With their transition offense hot, NAU took at 2 goal lead during the third quarter and went up by 4 in the midway through the 4th quarter.
With 5 minutes remaining the Hawks dug deep emotionally, and ramped up their intensity. Midfielder Kevin Harkey dropped to the Attack for injured Matt Lindsley, pouring in 3 goals and 1 assists midway through the first quarter. The Hawks defense stepped up the pressure and were able to create critical turnovers.
Kevin Harkey hit the net with his final goal with 45 seconds on the clock to put the game into overtime.
Unfortunately, the Lumberjacks controlled the faceoff and were able to bury the Fort with their final possession. Final score – FLC 15 and NAU 16.
Even though this was a tough loss to absorb, with important ramifications for the Hawks conference standing, the team showed an incredible spirit and an excellent level of play, coming from a 4 goal deficit to tie the game in the 4th quarter.
BIG WIN IN CALIFORNIA
On Sunday, March 7, the Hawks travelled to California to take on Cal State Fullerton. Fullerton has been receiving extensive attention having crushed many of their opponents, and being ranked 9th nationally in Division 2 club lacrosse.
This was a must win for the Hawks after the devastating emotional loss to NAU. As a team FLC realized that the intensity and level of play that they showed against Arizona in the fourth quarter would allow them to play and beat the best teams in the country. From the first minute the Hawks competed at the highest level. Erik Johnston stung Fullerton with an early goal and FLC retained a slight lead for the rest of the game.
The defense was particularly effective for the Hawks as the long sticks and mids worked quick slides and were able to continually frustrate the high powered Fullerton offense. Goalie Sean Claussey played an incredible game saving 7 tough shots in the 4th quarter alone.
With several adjustments made from the NAU game, FLC played a complete game with a potent and well disciplined offense, a quick drop to prevent the fast break on midfield, and a tenacious sliding defense.
The final 5 minutes of the 4th quarter saw a flurry of shots from Fullerton as they desperately tried to even the score. The frustration of Fuller ton was apparent to the FLC fan club spear headed by the Bock and Grenhart clan, as the penalty flags were flying in the waning minutes. Final score for this huge upset – FLC 10 – Fullerton 7.
On March 11, the Hawks caravan to Cal State Long Beach for the third game of their spring break road trip.
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