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Nardella, Cannons need win
‘Everyone needs to do the little things that collectively we need to do to get our team those wins.’ — CANNONS’ JOE NARDELLA On team’s playoff push down stretch
Fans won’t have to wait long to see one of the most important individual matchups between the Boston Cannons and New York Lizards.
Cannons faceoff specialist Joe Nardella, ranked second in Major League Lacrosse while winning 56 percent of his draws, will battle the league’s No. 1 man at the X, the Lizards’ Greg Gurenlian, tonight (6:30) in a critical regular-season matchup at Harvard Stadium.
In professional lacrosse, faceoff battles are an intricate maneuver. It can feel like a wrestling and lacrosse hybrid, with a player’s focus on gaining possession balanced by his desire not to misstep. Faceoff specialist spots aren’t easy to come by, meaning the guys who fill them are at the top of their game.
The battle for possession becomes more than a physical matchup.
“Faceoffs are a very mental game,” said Nardella, a Rutgers product in his second pro season. “I try to treat every game the same. I look forward to some good competition between Greg and me.”
Gurenlian wins 58 percent of his faceoffs, but when the Cannons (6-6) last played the Lizards (8-4) on June 18, Nardella and his teammates held the edge. They will try to do the same tonight.
“Joe and our wing play will be important against Greg,” said Cannons first-year coach Sean Quirk. “Last time Joe was over 50 percent against, which was good.”
Faceoff success and a hat trick from Justin Turri were high points in that last meeting, but the Cannons lost 13-12 in overtime. They let Lizards star (and former Cannon) Paul Rabil, Dave Lawson and the supporting cast jump right back into the game.
“We just have to do well down the stretch,” said Nardella. “We can’t take our foot off the gas like we did at the end of that game. They aren’t going to let up.”
Hampering the Lizards is the suspension of Lawson, who scored the game-winner in June. He was penalized by the league yesterday for a dangerous hit in New York’s 18-12 win over the Chesapeake Bayhawks on Thursday.
An already strong Cannons defense now has one less weapon to shut down, which is key against an offense averaging 17 goals a game.
“We have a good defense, and it has been a highlight all year,” said Quirk. “We held Rochester scoreless for 42 minutes (on July 2), which is hard to do in this league.”
Stymying the first-place Lizards is key to keeping the Cannons in the playoff hunt. Currently seventh, they need victories in their last two regular-season games to earn a postseason berth.
Though the players are separated during the week, thanks to their smartphones they know what their charge is.
“We have been talking (about the playoff hunt) in our group chat,” said Nardella. “We need to be doing every little thing we can. Everyone needs to do the little things that collectively we need to do to get our team these wins.”