The New York Riptide lost its fourth consecutive game by a final score of 11-4 on a night where history was made on Saturday, December 28 at NYCB Live Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum as Box Lacrosse was brought back to Long Island for the first time since 2009 as the New York Riptide hosted the Saskatchewan Rush.
The Riptide came out of the gates slow, as they were first unable to capitalize on a power play twice in the first quarter. The Riptide would go on to allow six unanswered goals until Riptide points leader Connor Kelly scored their first-ever goal at home, on a power play.
Tyler Digby registered his fifth goal of the season at the (5:20) mark in the second quarter.
Digby came close to scoring his second goal of the game; however, the goal was waved off as the referee ruled the shooter was in the crease. The Riptide used a coach’s challenge; however, the call was not overturned.
The Riptide entered the half trailing 9-2.
The Rush had everything working for them offensively in the first half, as they were able to get 31 shots-on-goal attempts while the Riptide only got 19. They executed on power play opportunities going 2-2, while the Riptide went 1-3.
The Riptide were able to figure out Saskatchewan’s offensive game plan as the defense stepped up, limiting them to two goals. One goal came on a penalty shot as the Riptide was hit with an illegal substitution penalty with under two minutes left in the third quarter. The second goal came on an empty-netter in the fourth quarter.
While they were able to figure out their offensive game plan, they had no answers for their defense. They would score just two more goals. Digby opened up the second half with his second goal of the game, and Dan Lomas added a goal in the fourth quarter.
Goalie Alex Buque registered 44 saves, on 55 shots-on-goal opportunities, while allowing 11 goals.
Despite the loss, Digby was named Third Star player of the game.
Riptide General Manager and head-coach Regy Thorpe says, “A lot of our guys are brand new to the league. We had a couple of our guys play their first NLL game. It’s a learning curve; we see some confidence. There’s going to be ups and downs. We’re going to stick with the process, and we believe in our guys.”
With this loss, the Riptide now fall to 0-4 on the season. They will remain at home for game two of their three-game home stand, as they will host the Philadelphia Wings.
