(Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Knighthawks fell to the Georgia Swarm 13-6 Saturday afternoon at Gas South Arena. It was a close first quarter before the Swarm defense shut the door. Rochester was held scoreless for almost 25 minutes from the second quarter through the third. Georgia extended its lead in that time and took home the first win of the back-to-back set of games.
Rochester was led offensively by Connor Fields with one goal and three assists. Ryan Lanchbury notched a goal and an assist. Defensively, Taylor Jensen and Chad Tutton led the way. Jensen scored a goal, scooped up eight loose balls, caused three turnovers, and blocked a shot. Tutton got nine loose-ball recoveries and added a caused turnover and a block. Mitchell Dunham made his NLL debut and finished top five among defensemen with seven loose-ball recoveries, two caused turnovers, and a block.
Multiple Knighthawks reached milestones against the Swarm. Jeremy Thompson scooped up nine loose balls. The first of the day was number 2000 in his career, making him only the fifth player ever to reach that mark. Rylan Hartley made 31 saves, which included the 2000th save of his career, all with the Knighthawks.
Rochester got out to a hot start. Jensen picked off a pass on the defensive end and outran the whole Georgia offense. He went to the top corner and beat Brett Dobson for the first goal of the game. Zed Williams added to the scoreboard just 10 seconds later. After that, Georgia went on its first run of the night, scoring the next three goals to take its first lead of the night. Ryan Smith picked the top left corner off a feed from Fields and tied the game at three.
The Swarm stepped on the gas after that, offensively and defensively. They shut down the Rochester offense through the rest of the second and all of the third quarter. In that time, they extended their lead to 9-3. Lanchbury stopped the run with a dunk just 23 seconds into the fourth, but it was answered by four more Georgia goals. The Knighthawks got two late tallies by Fields and Graydon Hogg, but it was too little too late as they fell 13-6.
Both teams will now turn their attention to the airstrip as they will travel to Rochester for a game at The Blue Cross Arena tomorrow. The NLL regular season finale is scheduled for 3 p.m. as the Knighthawks host their Native American Heritage Game.
Rochester will wear one-of-a-kind jerseys designed by artist Randee Spruce, Seneca of the Heron Clan. The Knighthawks jerseys and shorts will be auctioned off on DASH, a sport-focused online auction platform and partner of the Knighthawks, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Newtown Minor Lacrosse Association and the Allegany Arrows. The Knighthawks will also auction off the players’ warm-up T-shirts, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Salamanca Warriors Seneca Youth Dancers.
To access the auction, fans can visit www.rochesterknighthawks.com/auction or text “DASH” to 66866. Click the download link and install DASH on your mobile device. Fans can then create their own personal profile and select the Knighthawks as their favorite team to start bidding. The auction began at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 15, and runs through Monday, April 20, at 10 a.m. Winners will be contacted directly.