National Lacrosse League

The Buffalo Bandits, without Head Coach Ted Sawicki, marched into the Nassau Coliseum and toppled the previously undefeated New York Saints, 16-13. Buffalo grabbed an early lead and never let go.

Mark Frye scored the first goal 3:31 into the game, giving his Saints a 1-0 lead, however, Buffalo scored six in a row in the first quarter to take a commanding 6-1 lead. New York mounted a run of their own, led by Roy Colsey, and was able to cut the lead to a goal, however, Buffalo would not relent, with Randy Mearns and Pat McCready trading goals with New York.

The two teams each scored twice in the second and four times in the third, but the early Buffalo run kept them on top for good. A 15-10 fourth quarter lead was cut to only two goals, but John Tavares put the nail in the coffin with an empty net goal as time ran out.

The Bandits improve to 2-1, giving them a third place tie in the Central division with Rochester. Buffalo has a week off and then host the defending champion Philadelphia Wings on December 29th.

New York, which had been the only undefeated team in the league, falls to 2-1, joining Washington with a first place tie in the Eastern Division. New York travels to Albany to take on the Attack next Friday at Pepsi Arena.