PCLC Welcomes Toronto Rock For First Matchup in Franchise History

The Panther City Lacrosse Club (1-1) will face the Toronto Rock (1-0) for the first time in franchise history on Friday, December 22 at 7 p.m. CT at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Both teams are coming off bye weekends. Last time on the floor, Panther City lost a heartbreaker in OT to the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, 11-10.

Callum Crawford has led the way offensively for Panther City as he has registered back-to-back games with a hat trick and has eight goals through two games this season, which is tied for third most in the NLL. Reigning Rookie of the Year, Jonathan Donville has picked up where he left off in his award-winning campaign last season, as he is tied for the team lead with 11 points (3G/8A) and leads the team with his eight assists. He is coming off a seven-point performance (2G/5A) against Las Vegas.

Special teams have been a strength for the club from Fort Worth through two games as they currently have the second-best power play unit in the NLL, as they are 4-6 (67%) on the man advantage. On the penalty kill, Panther City leads the league, only allowing two goals on nine short-handed situations for a PK kill rate of 78%.

Defensively, Panther City’s captain Matt Hossack continues to establish himself as one of the league’s top defenders as he has recorded 18 loose balls (3rd amongst NLL defenders) and his six caused turnovers are tied for the league high amongst defenders.

Toronto enters the contest only having played one game, an 11-7 victory over Philadelphia on December 9th. They are led by newly-acquired forward Mark Matthews, who in his lone game with the Rock this season recorded 5 points (4G/1A). Defensively, the Rock look to their netminder to lead the back-end unit, as Nick Rose has cemented himself as one of the top goalies in the NLL. In one game this season, Rose only allowed seven goals and made 37 saves.