Week 9 Game Review

FINAL SCORE: TIGERSHARKS 22 VS THUNDERCATS 19

THUNDERCATS (5-4) TIGERSHARKS (4-5)

Attackmen Brooke Lang and Sean Pearce come alive in second half as Sharks beat Cats, 22-19.

The Tigersharks returned in full force Sunday edging out the Thundercats, 22-19, following a post-Beijing two-week hiatus. The Sharks mounted a thrilling second-half comeback led by attackmen Brooke Lang (3G) and Sean Pearce (4G) who combined to score 7 goals in the second half and delivering 5 of these goals in the final 8 minutes of the game. The victory brings the Tigersharks (4-5) within one game of .500 with just three games left to play in the Fall 2015 season.  

The first half of the game belonged to the Thundercats and its offense led by attack duo Doug Delange (7G) and Mike Elefante (4G).  The Cats jumped out to an early two-point lead which they maintained for more than thirty minutes as the Sharks struggled to keep pace.  The Tigersharks were kept alive by the strong first-half performances of midfielder Alex Spangler (6G), who registered four goals and goalkeeper Amir Alamdari (11 saves). The Tigersharks would trail the Thundercats, 8-6 at the half. 

However, the game would be a tale of two halves as the Tigersharks would start the second half strong and never let up. As of this writing, the Cats have yet to find a solution to the Sharks’ run-and-gun offense led by Spangler (6G), Barton Wheeler (3G,1A), and Zach Goodnough (4G). The trio capitalized on multiple turnovers, scoring a combined 13 goals in transition and from the outside. The Cats’ Delange and Elefante with midfielder Mike Collins (5G) would mount several scoring drives in the third quarter and goaltender Mark Lemmon (8 saves) made several critical stops but momentum had clearly shifted in favor of the Sharks. 

In the fourth quarter with the Thundercats leading 16-15, the Tigersharks would finally take control, outscoring the Cats 7-3. The late fourth quarter rally was due in no small part to attackmen Sean Pierce and Brooke Lang scoring five unassisted goals in the last 8 minutes of play. It would be Lang’s second goal at just under four minutes that would prove decisive, capping off the second comeback win for the Tigersharks in the last two games against the Thundercats.