The Orlando Titans topped the Buffalo Bandits 9-7 Friday night at Amway Arena, clinching the Eastern Division regular season title in the process.
ORLANDO LOCKS UP EAST TITLE, TOPS BUFFALO 9-7
Knighthawks loss guarantees #1 seed in the East for Titans
04/16/2010
By Jason Lucas for NLL.com
The Orlando Titans (9-5) put together a furious second half rally after trailing by three goals at halftime to take a 9-7 victory over the Buffalo Bandits (7-8) Friday night at Amway Arena. Orlando's win - along with the Rochester Knighthawk's loss to the Toronto Rock - clinched the Eastern Division regular season title and home field advantage up until, at least, the Championship Game. Orlando's first round playoff game will be played played on the first of May.
With the score tied at seven entering the fourth period, Orlando took its first lead of the second half on Casey Powell's fourth goal of the contest at 10:13, assisted by Chet Koneczny and Jordan Hall.
Powell recorded his 500th career point as he assisted on Mike McLellan's insurance goal with just 1:27 remaining in the game.
"It feels good because I gave this game up for two years," Powell said of his 500th point. "This was a very good milestone for me to get to this point and a big win for the team."
The Titans got 34 minutes, 13 seconds of shutout lacrosse from goalie Matt "Vino" Vinc, who finished the game with 34 saves including 11 to preserve the lead in the final stanza.
"When we started battling back I just kept telling myself to take it one save at a time," said Vinc. "The guys did a great job to keep playing and making sure we got the win."
Orlando pulled even at 7-7, scoring three unanswered goals in the third period. Powell's third tally of the game was a screamer from the slot that tied the game with 5:03 left in the period. The Titans also got goals from Ryan Boyle and Hall to build the momentum in their favor.
The Bandits quickly jumped on top 2-0 in the first period with goals from Mark Steenhuis and Kevin Dostie. Orlando answered with a goal from Powell to make the score 2-1 at the 4:05 mark. Vinc kept the Titans in the game, making 14 saves on 16 shots in the period.
"We've been getting solid play from Matt [Vinc]," Titans head coach Ed Comeau said. "The defense did a great job supporting him tonight and that really kept us in the game."
The second period got off to a promising start for the Titans with back-to-back goals from Greg Peyser to give Orlando its first lead at 3-2 with 12:08 left before halftime.
From there, the Bandits scored five unanswered goals including two from Mike Accursi to give Buffalo a 7-3 advantage. The Titans got a second goal from Powell to get back into striking distance and trailed 7-4 at halftime.
"We didn't score in the second half," Bandits head coach Darris Kilgour simply put his team's fate. "What game are you going to win doing that?"
Bandits goalie Mike Thompson finished the game with 32 saves in a losing effort.
Orlando's offense was led by Powell's four goals and one assist (5 points). Buffalo got two goals apiece from Steenhuis and Accursi to lead their attack.
The win solidified Orlando's grip on first place in the Eastern Division and they now face two road games to finish the season at Philadelphia (April 23) and Minnesota (April 24).
Buffalo will head home to take on the Boston Blazers in a must-win contest to bring their record back to .500 and clinch a playoff spot.
All games can be seen live on The NLL Network at NLL.com.
© 2010 National Lacrosse League. The team names, logos and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the NLL.