RUSH LOSE HEARTBREAKER AT FORT WORTH

A dramatic fourth-quarter comeback wasn’t quite enough for the Saskatchewan Rush on Saturday night as they dropped a gut-wrenching 17-16 overtime result to Panther City Lacrosse Club in Ft. Worth, Texas.

After Phil Caputo’s shorthanded goal gave Panther City a 16-14 edge with less than two minutes remaining in regulation time, the Rush’s pulled within one on a power-play effort from Matthews as he picked the top corner on a rocket from the top of the shot for his hat-trick tally with 33.6 seconds left. The Rush then tied it up with 20.8 seconds to go as Robert Church found Ryan Keenan all alone in front of the PC net and he ripped his shot home.

The night came to a disappointing end for the Rush when Panther City’s Will Malcolm fired in his fifth of the night, beating Adam Shute after peeling out of the corner into the slot. Malcolm finished with eight points, while Nick Damude made 38 saves in the Panther City net.

With the win, Panther City (3-8) picked up the first winning streak in franchise history, while the Rush (3-7) couldn’t get a second win in a row after last weekend’s big win over Colorado.

The Rush used a pair of three-goal runs to pace them to an 8-7 lead in a wild first half. Matthews got the Rush on the board with a terrific move past the defender and beating Damude. Goals by Keenan and Bobby Kidd III, with his first in the NLL, got the Rush offence rolling. Saskatchewan put a trio together again in the second quarter after Matthews’ second of the night. Josh Currier made it 5-5, Dan Lintner followed with a sensational diving shot to round out a slick passing play from Robert Church and Keenan, and Mike Messenger gave the Rush a 7-5 lead off a solo rumble off the ensuing faceoff.

Panther City got its offence on track in the third quarter, putting six goals in with a second three-goal run interrupted on a shorthanded tally from Currier that pulled the Rush to within one at 11-10.

Trailing 13-11 after three, the Rush showed they weren’t going to go away quietly. Lintner completed a hat trick with back-to-back goals 1:39 apart early in the fourth to get the Rush even. After former Rush Travis Cornwall back in front, Messenger answered just over two minutes later with his second unassisted strike of the night.

Church (2 goals, 4 assists) and Matthews (3 goals, 3 assists) both earned six-point nights for the Rush. Eric Penney made his second straight start in the Rush net and made 17 saves. Shute gave up seven goals in relief and totaled eight saves.

The Rush return to action next Friday night and continue their three-game road trip as they make their first trip of the season to California to take on the West Division-leading San Diego Seals.

(SaskRush.com)