Australian Lacrosse League 2004

PO Box 162 WEMBLEY WA 6913
lacrossewa2@optusnet.com.au
Phone: 61 8 9242 5759 Fax: 61 8 9242 5758

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Australian Lacrosse League DVDs and Videos

Vics too strong for WA in Final

MELBOURNE: Victoria were crowned Australian Lacrosse League champions at the State Hockey and Netball Centre after a comprehensive 16-7 win against Western Australia.

WA started well, getting out to a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter, but struggled for the rest of the match.

The visitors only scored two goals in the second half, and were held scoreless in the final quarter. Midfielder Darren Nicholas led the charge for Victoria, scoring five goals and one assist.

Nicholas’s fantastic goal on the half-time buzzer after dodging past five WA defenders was the highlight of the night. The goal gave Victoria a 7-4 half time lead after trailing WA 3-1 at quarter time. The Vics further extended the advantage during the third quarter, with two goals to Nicholas and singles to Daniel Stiglich and Aaron Lawman setting up a championship winning 11-6 lead at three-quarter time.

It was celebration time in the final quarter, the Vics piling on five unanswered goals to win their first national title since 1999.

To cap off a memorable night for the Victorians, six players and coach Duncan McKenzie were selected in the Australian Lacrosse League All-stars line-up.

WA’s Russell Brown was rewarded for an excellent tournament by being named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

Lacrosse Australia President Graeme Reddaway said the new Australian Lacrosse League had been a great success. He said players, coaching staff and spectators had embraced the new concept, and the league would be back bigger and better next year.

SCORES:

REMINDER…

The ALL final is to be held this Saturday 13 November at the State Hockey Centre, Royal Park, Brens Drive, Melbourne, commencing at 8.00pm.

Games in the ALL competition have been closely contested with most games decided by no more than 2 goals, and the championship game promises to do likewise.

Please distribute this message amongst your lacrosse friends to ensure a bumper attendance.
The crowd shots are an important component of the TV coverage.

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PERTH: Western Australia won a thriller against South Australia at Hale School today to book a place in next week’s Australian Lacrosse League final against Victoria.

WA, coming off an exciting 9-7 win against the Croweaters last night, once again turned around a half-time deficit to record a 13-11 victory.

David Whiteman was the star for the Sandgropers, scoring six goals, including two important goals in the last three minutes of the match. But two illegal stick calls on the South Australians cost the visitors the game.

The referees disallowed Shane Gilbert’s strike with 5:10 left in the second quarter for an illegal stick. The goal would have given SA an 8-2 lead.

Leigh Perham’s final quarter goal, which would have put SA up 11-10 with 7:26 left in the match, was also ruled out for an illegal stick. Chris Hayes then gave WA the lead with two SA players in the penalty box, before two Whiteman goals put the result beyond doubt.

SA again got off to a flying start, opening a 3-1 quarter time lead, which had stretched to 7-2 with 6:05 left in the first half.

WA made its move in the third quarter, with goals to Whiteman (2), Russell Brown, and Adam Sear bringing the score back to 8-7. Perham then scored for SA just before three-quarter time to give the visitors a two-goal cushion going into the last quarter.

A fantastic running goal by Brown tied the game for WA with 10 minutes remaining, before Perham’s disallowed goal put SA on the back foot.

WA coach Clark Wight was delighted with the win and has his sights set on upsetting the Victorians in Melbourne next week. WA lost its first two matches of the season against Victoria in Melbourne. “We have now had the chance to gel as a team and we are playing well together,” Wight said. “That’s going to make the world of difference for the final.”

SA coach Peter Brown said the illegal stick calls cost his side the match. “We had some bad luck, a few guys broke sticks and had to borrow them from other players,” he said. “But at this level it is up to the individual to make sure their gear is legal, and what happened out there today shouldn’t occur.”

Victoria will take on Western Australia at the State Netball and Hockey Centre, Melbourne, on Saturday, November 13, at 8pm EST.

SCORES

	1Q	2Q	3Q	FINAL
WA	1	3	7	13
SA	3	7	9	11

GOALSCORERS:
WA: D Whiteman 6, R Brown 2, A Sear 2, A Ettridge, D Spreadborough, C Hayes.
SA: B Howe 4, L Perham 2, S Gilbert 2, M Mangan, J Pangrazio, A Carter.

TABLE:

	P	W	L	F	A	Pts
VIC	4	3	1	49	41	6
WA	4	2	2	40	42	4
SA	4	1	3	41	47	2

NEXT GAME:
Victoria v Western Australia, State Netball and Hockey Centre, Melbourne, Saturday, November 13, at 8pm EST.

PERTH: Western Australia defeated South Australia 9-7 at Hale School tonight to set up a sudden death showdown tomorrow for the right to meet Victoria in the Australian Lacrosse League final.

The Sandgropers overcame a poor first half, where they scored only one goal in 40 minutes of lacrosse, to storm home to victory in front of a large crowd. Trailing 5-2 early in the third quarter, WA took full advantage of an SA team that spent most of the second half with a player in the penalty box.

The introduction of long-stick Russell Brown at the face-off provided WA with the spark it needed, giving the home side first use of possession on several occasions. WA tied the game at 5-5 with three unanswered goals from Adam Sear, David Spreadborough and Nathan Rainey. Adam Ettridge then gave the home side the lead for first time with just two minutes remaining before three-quarter time.

Buoyed on by the vocal crowd, Alex Brown extended the lead to 7-5 early in the last quarter, before Shane Gilbert pulled one back for the visitors. Ettridge then scored from long-range and Sear scored his third of the match to make it 9-6 with eight minutes left. Stuart Robb made it 9-7 with 2:47 remaining, but it was a case of too little too late for the South Australians, who had promised so much earlier in the match.

SA shot out to a 4-1 first half lead with goals to Nigel Wapper (2), Anthony Feleppa and Mark Mangan. Goalkeeper Mark Stilgoe was also outstanding in front of the cage, making several excellent saves, including three during a passage of play when SA had two men down. SA coach Peter Brown said his side was on the end of some poor refereeing decisions.

The penalty count was 13-3 against SA. “We will be better prepared for tomorrow’s game, we will make a few adjustments and I’m sure we will come away with the result,” Brown said. WA coach Clark Wight was delighted with the victory. “This was a fantastic win. The guys fought hard to come back from scoring only one goal in the first half,” he said. “We won a lot more groundballs in the second half and our shooting also improved.”

The two teams meet again tomorrow at Hale School at 12.00pm WST, with the winner to advance to the Australian Lacrosse League final against Victoria in Melbourne next Saturday night.

SCORES

Australian Lacrosse League – Game 5

	1Q	2Q	3Q	FINAL
WA	1	1	6	9
SA	1	4	5	7

GOALSCORERS
WA: A Sear 3, A Ettridge 2, D Spreadborough, N Rainey, A Brown, G Allen.
SA: N Wapper 2, S Robb, S Gilbert, A Feleppa, L Perham, M Mangan.

ASSISTS:
WA: D Spreadborough.
SA: S Robb 2, L Perham.

TABLE:

	P	W	L	F	A	Pts
VIC	4	3	1	49	41	6
SA	3	1	2	30	34	2
WA	2	1	2	27	31	2

NEXT GAME:
Western Australia v South Australia, Hale School, Sunday, November 7 at 12.00pm WST.

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Rough proofs from Vic vs WA game

Michael Silver of Photonet has provided rough proofs of images from the game Vic vs. WA on Sunday 24th October.

If you would like a photo then contact Michael, his details and rough proofs can be found at http://www.photonet.com.au/u408/

Missing several star players through injury, Victoria bucked the odds to become the first side to win on the road in the tournament.

Reserve goalkeeper Jeff Joy was the star performer, scoring three goals, after being forced to play in attack due to the Vic’s long injury list.

The Vics were missing Australian players Rob Stark, Ryan Garnsworthy and John Tokarua, but shot out to a 7-1 lead with 9:00 left in the first half.

SA managed to reduce the margin to 8-4 by half time, after goals to Leigh Perham, Nigel Wapper and Brett Howe.

The Croweaters further reduced the margin in the third quarter, getting within two goals of Victoria early in the period.

Daniel Pusvacietis made it 9-6 for Victoria with 9:00 remaining in the third quarter, before a fantastic backhand goal by Mark Mangan on the three-quarter time buzzer again reduced the margin to two

A fantastic check by Mangan on Victorian goalkeeper Scott Garnsworthy set up Perham for an easy goal into an open cage to open the scoring in the final quarter.

SA then tied the game when Anthony Feleppa scored from a pass by Mangan.

Feleppa then gave SA the lead with 9:25 remaining, getting on the end of a pass from Perham. But that brought an end to the SA scoring, unforced errors and some good Victorian defence ensured an away victory.

Aaron Lawman tied the game for the Vics with 6:00 left on the clock, before Joy gave the visitors an 11-10 lead 40 seconds later.

Goals to Daniel Stiglich, Warwick Henderson and Darren Nicholas in the final three minutes wrapped up the contest for the Victorians.

The win means Victoria will play in the Australian Lacrosse League final in Melbourne on November 13.

SA needs at least one win against WA in Perth next weekend to make the final. WA must win both games against SA to play in the final.

WA will play SA in Game Five of the Australian Lacrosse League at Hale School, Perth, on Saturday, November 6 at 7.30pm WST. The two teams will do it again the following day at the same venue at 12pm WST.

SCORES

ASSISTS:
VIC: D Pusvacietis 3, D Stiglich, D Nicholas, N Le Guen, A Lawman.
SA: M Mangan 4, A Feleppa 2, L Perham, A Carter, R Stone.

TABLE:

NEXT GAME:
Western Australia v South Australia, Hale School, Saturday, November 6 at 7.30pm WST.

Note: TV footage will be available
Media contact: Jason Marocchi – Tel: 0438 074 674

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GAME THREE

Croweaters successful on debut

Print version (Microsoft Word 156KB)

ADELAIDE: South Australia made a successful debut in the Australian Lacrosse League today defeating Victoria 13-11 at the State Sports Centre.

SA, without US Major League Lacrosse star Peter Inge, who is likely to miss the series because of injury, had to fight off a late comeback by the Vics to hold on to victory.

Goals to Victoria’s Daniel Stiglich and Damian Arnell brought the score back to 13-11 with three minutes remaining.

SA goalkeeper Mark Stilgoe then made an important save with 1:30 left on the clock to end any hope of a Victorian win.

The Croweaters jumped out to an early 3-1 lead when Brett Howe scored a nice goal on the hop with 3:30 left in the first quarter. But Victoria scored two late goals through Arnell and Stiglich to go into the first break on level terms.

Victoria took the lead in the first minute of the second quarter through Pusvacietis and then regained the advantage at 5-4 when Michael Sevoir scored, after some great defensive play by John Tokarua.

SA then scored the next four goals of the quarter through Nigel Wapper, Howe, Anson Carter and Mark Mangan to take an 8-5 lead into half time.

The Vics shot back in the third period scoring the first two goals of the quarter to bring the lead back to one, before SA’s Leigh Perham made it 9-7 with an excellent solo move.

Two more goals for the Vics, including a second knock-in (or own goal), allowed the visitors to stay within one goal of SA (10-9) at the final change.

Anthony Feleppa scored the opening goal of the last quarter for SA after a nice pass from Perham, and Perham was in the thick of things again moments later, setting up Shane Gilbert for a 13-9 lead.

Victoria then worked itself into the contest, but too many turnovers and some good defence from SA kept them at bay. The win gives SA its first points of the competition.

Both sides will play each other again tomorrow at the State Sports Centre at 11am.

Victoria, who beat WA twice last weekend, needs one more victory to seal a place in the Australian Lacrosse League final in Melbourne on November 13.

SA will be looking for another home win before travelling to Perth to take on WA in a double-header next weekend.

SCORES

Australian Lacrosse League – Game 3

	1Q	2Q	3Q	FINAL
SA	3	8	10	13
VIC	3	5	9	11

GOALSCORERS:

SA: B Howe 4, M Mangan 3, L Perham 2, N Wapper, A Carter, A Feleppa, S Gilbert.
VIC: D Stiglich 3, D Pusvacietis 2, D Arnell 2, Sevoir, Ardossi, Knock-ins (own goals): 2.

TABLE:

	P	W	L	F	A	Pts
VIC	3	2	1	35	31	4
SA	1	1	–	13	11	2
WA	2	–	2	18	24	–

NEXT GAME: South Australia v Victoria
The Pines Hockey Field, Adelaide, Sunday, October 31 at 11am Central Summer Time.

Note: TV footage will be available
Media contact: Jason Marocchi – Tel: 0438 074 674

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Fixtures