Philadelphia, Pa (Jan. 14, 2022) – The Panther City Lacrosse Club (3-3) came from four goals down and roared back to defeat the Philadelphia Wings (2-2) in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night. Will Malcomled the club with seven points (4G/3A), including the game-winner with the scored tied at 10, when he found the back of the net on an isolation play with 48 seconds remaining in regulation.
Goalie Nick Damude rebounded from a six-goal first half and finished the evening with a .800 save percentage after stopping 40 shots out of the 50 he faced and only allowed four goals in the second half. Newly appointed captain, Matt Hossack recorded two points (1G/1A) and led the team with 11 loose balls and two caused turnovers. Panther City finished +19 in between the lines as they recorded 78 loose balls to Philadelphia’s 59. On the evening, Panther City caused nine turnovers.
Panther City’s offense awoke in the second half as they recorded five goals apiece in the third and fourth quarter. Second-year forward Patrick Dodds recorded his 100th career point in his 23rd career game and finished the evening with four points (1G/3A). Transition player Josh Medeiros recorded two goals, including an empty-netter to seal the deal, while also recording six loose balls and causing one turnover. Rookie Mathieu Gautier also recorded two goals and added one assist for a three-point evening. 11 different players recorded a point for the club, including five transition/defensemen contributing to the point total.
Panther City will have a weekend off next weekend and then head to Vancouver to face the Warriors on Saturday, January 28 at 9 p.m. CT.
HEAD COACH TRACEY KELUSKY QUOTES
On the message at halftime that help spur the comeback win…
“We made a couple adjustments at half, but truth be told, I thought we did a really good job and played a really good first half. It is a game of balances. We were getting good opportunities. Just need to knuckle down a little bit on offense. We had 18 shots that missed the net in the first half and again, we just bear down. Nicky [Goalie Nick Damude] stood on his head in the second half.”
On this game being a meaningful win…
“One of the things we talk about is that we have to stop the bleeding. In order to do that it was going to take every man. Our big thing was just energy. We needed to play with energy and it becomes a roller coaster at times. There are highs and lows. There is momentum. There are shifts. There are all kinds of things going on, but ultimately we just needed to play with a little more energy and a little more fire and ultimately we continued with that and did all the little things real well.”
On Will Malcom’s performance tonight…
“He is the real deal. Will is a guy that every night has to prove himself. If you are going to be an elite guy in this league – I call them ‘number ones’, — if you are going to be a one on any offense then you need to produce every night. It is a burden, but it is something he can certainly carry and he stepped up tonight and proved that he is.”
On Nick Damude’s performance…
“I just really liked the way the defense played in front of him. We played in tight. We soaked more balls tonight in one game than we did all year. With that being said, Nicky just made the saves he needed to. I like how composed he was back there. If they are going to beat us then they are going to beat us on good shot. Nicky made the saves that he needed to and that is all we can ask.”
FORWARD WILL MALCOM QUOTES
On the importance of the win tonight…
“Yeah, we knew it was a must-win. TK [Head Coach Tracey Kelusky] gave us a fiery speech to start the game and I think we came out and played fast and free, which is the way we want too. Huge win.”
On Kelusky challenging him pregame to be the number one player that he can be…
“I definitely took it to heart the last couple games. I wasn’t playing that great. He gave it to me and I knew I needed to step up. We got the win and I am happy.”
On the difference in the second half for the offense…
“Honestly, I think we were playing great the whole game and were getting the looks we wanted. It was just a matter of putting the ball in the net. [Philadelphia Goalie Zach] Higgins was playing great and eventually they dropped.”
