(Rochester, NY)… It was a memorable night for the Rochester Knighthawks. In the first home game under the ownership of the Seneca Nation, the Knighthawks knocked off the Philadelphia Wings 15-11 at Segar and Sciortino Field Saturday night.
“There’s been a lot of buildup in this offseason,” said Knighthawks forward Connor Fields. “There was uncertainty (this offseason) of not knowing if we’re going to play in this building again, in front of these fans. So, to be back here and hearing them again, it juiced us up for sure.”
Fields led the Knighthawks with 11 points (5+6) on the night, followed by Ryan Lanchbury’s seven assists. Ryan Smith notched two goals and two assists, while Zed Williams added two goals and an assist. Jake Piseno also notched his first career NLL hat trick.
Rylan Hartley made 32 saves before he came to the center of the floor and dropped the gloves against Wings goalie Nick Damude. Riley Hutchcraft came in for the final 3:15 and made four saves.
The Knighthawks were in the driver’s seat all night; each time the Wings scored a goal, the Knighthawks had a pair to answer with. In the third quarter, Fields and Williams combined to give Rochester a five-goal lead, and they never looked back.
Williams opened the scoring for Rochester, sparking a three-goal run to start the game. He drove to the middle and created his own space for a point-blank catch and shoot. The Knighthawks were in rhythm on every part of the floor, scoring from set offense and in transition. They took a 5-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Piseno had a career night, notching a hat trick and one assist to lead the Knighthawks’ transition game. He made his presence felt from the first quarter as he scored Rochester’s fourth goal of the game.
“Jake’s a stud,” Fields said. “You talk to anyone on that team, and I think everyone knew he was going to take that next step this year.”
Rochester led 7-4 at halftime and started the third with three quick goals to lead 10-4. Fields was involved in all but one second-half goal, scoring four and assisting on three.
“It’s not me,” said Fields. “It’s the guys around me, teams will try to key in (on me), but they really can’t because of the weapons we have on the offensive end, and I think you saw that last week in San Diego.”
The Knighthawks have now scored 30 goals in two games. Fields has 16 points, ranking in the top five in points while playing one less game than the rest of the pack.
The team now turns its sights to Denver, as it prepares for a game against the Colorado Mammoth on the road on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 9 p.m. EST.