On the strength of four-point efforts from Connor Fields (4+0), Holden Cattoni (2+2), and Ryan Smith (2+2), combined with a 33-save performance by goaltender Rylan Hartley, the surging Rochester Knighthawks (5-0) soared to an 11-8 victory over the New York Riptide (0-4) Sunday at Nassau Veterans Coliseum.
By winning their fifth straight and third road game of the campaign, the Knighthawks are the only team in the National Lacrosse League to remain unbeaten following San Diego’s 14-10 loss to Calgary on Saturday night.
Along with Fields, who notched his fourth straight four-goal outing to begin the season, Cattoni and Smith each turned in a multi-point performance, while Turner Evans (0+3), Ryland Rees (1+2), Curtis Knight (0+2), and Matt Gilray (1+2) also finished with multiple points. Ethan Schott (1+0), Brad Gillies (0+1), Thomas Hoggarth (0+1) and rookie Austin Hasen (0+1) all notched one point each to round out the scoring.
Goaltender Rylan Hartley (5+0) was again brilliant in between the pipes, making 33 saves in his fifth straight start of the campaign. The netminder, who stopped 14 of the 16 shots he faced in the third quarter, paces the league with five wins after holding the opposition to fewer than 10 goals in three of his last four appearances..
Reigning Rookie of the Year and former 2020 first overall selection Jeff Teat (0+5) posted a game-high five-assists for New York, which remains winless through its first four games of the campaign. Reilly O’Connor (1+2), Tyler Digby (0+3), Larson Sundown (2+1), Connor Kearnan (2+1) and Callum Crawford (3+1) all notched a multi-point game.
Steve Orleman (0+3) appeared in his third game of the season, and despite making 40 saves, he suffered the defeat in-between the pipes for the Riptide.
After missing Rochester’s previous game, Fields made an immediate impact in his return to the lineup, scoring four of Rochester’s first six goals, including three straight in the second quarter, and opening the scoring just 1:13 into the contest to give the Knighthawks an early 1-0 lead.
Just another 4 goal game for Connor Fields 👀 pic.twitter.com/e3CfLWfa6C
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) January 15, 2023
Smith converted on the power-play at 7:09 with the first of a season-high four goals on the man-advantage for Rochester before the Riptide countered back with two straight in less than two minutes to make it a 2-2 score.
While the Rochester defense remained steady, the offense erupted in the second quarter as they outscored New York 4-1 to carry a 6-3 advantage into the break, which also included a 30-14 shot advantage.
New York fell into penalty trouble midway through the second frame and the Knighthawks quickly took advantage by way of scoring four straight goals, three of which came on the man-advantage.
Holden Cattoni just doing his thing on the power play. pic.twitter.com/gPjSypgrIT
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) January 15, 2023
Of Rochester’s four goals in the quarter, Fields produced a natural hat trick in a span of 5:48, following Cattoni’s goal from Smith.
The goal at the 8:42 mark served as Cattoni’s 200th point in the NLL.
Late in the first half, Sundown scored his second goal of the contest to make it a three-goal deficit for New York at the half.
First NLL goal for Ethan Schott 🙌 pic.twitter.com/RkkFLl3h4W
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) January 15, 2023
Rochester opened the third quarter with Schott scoring in transition before the intrastate rivals traded goals over the final 9:13, giving the Knighthawks a 9-5 advantage going into the final 15 minutes of regulation.
Rochester carried a four-goal lead into the fourth quarter, however, Crawford, a four-time NLL All-Pro selection, completed his hat trick with back-to-back goals 21 seconds apart to make it a 9-7 game with 14 minutes to play.
With the momentum beginning to shift to New York, Smith and Cattoni quelled any hopes of a potential comeback as they scored six minutes apart to restore the four-goal lead for Rochester.
Fields picking up right where he left off. pic.twitter.com/WvtRAvPt46
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) January 15, 2023
Kearnan netted the game’s final goal with just over 60 seconds remaining, but it would be as close as the Riptide would get as Rochester prevailed for the 11-8 victory.
The Knighthawks look to make it six in a row when they return home on Friday, Jan. 20 for an Eastern Conference showdown against the Buffalo Bandits at Segar & Sciortino Field at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:30 p.m. contest will be the first of two scheduled meetings between the intrastate rivals this season and will be carried live on Big 107.3 FM as well as ESPN+.
