Bainbridge Tops Bellevue, Defensive Stand 7-6

In what amounts to the second strong game for Bainbridge this season, Bellevue's battered squad suffered defeat at the hands of a passionate fighting Spartan Squad.  It started fast for Bellevue in the first quarter, but Bainbridge warmed up in the second quarter, continued in the third quarter, and held on in the fourth as Bellevue mounted a comeback.

First half of the first quarter, Bainbridge had almost no possession time, and Bellevue's possessions from the 'X' and opportunistic defensive steals gave them a 2-0 lead.  Nick Hudson got on the board first for Bellevue with a goal at 10:07, in what most people are expecting to be the game of the season to determine the legitimacy of the top four programs.   Cole Johnson scored with 8:53 remaining in the first, to lead Bellevue with a 2-0 stretch.  Bainbridge struggled with their offense thanks to Bellevue playing some pressure defense through Federspiel and Leggett in spite of missing several players.

Starting the fire for the Spartans, Goodman twists up his man behind the cage, and beats Boyd to the net, scoring Bainbridge's first at 3:36 in the first quarter.  Boyd makes his third save point blank,  ending the first quarter with what would be a possession shot, only to be stifled by Lacy's defense.

The second quarter Bainbridge got their feet beneath them, capitalizing on dropped passes.  missing possession time for the first half of second quarter, Kaegan Ingrasci found Jake Knostman from behind the cage, to tie it up with 5:49 left in the half.  Bainbridge's hustle on ground balls was the differentiator in the second quarter.  At 5:05, Number 9 scores for Bellevue, answered by Alex Crane's worm burner with 3:48 remaining in the half.  Boyd comes out of the cage but the failure to advance gives Goodman his second dinger for the night, scoring the go ahead with 46 seconds left in the half, on a open-goal shot from the midfield line.

Bellevue worked into a zone against BI after Crane takes the face-off, setting up a Cam Parker face-dodge to the net, for a 5-3 lead inside the first minute. Bainbridge gathers momentum fighting for ground balls.  Parker's feed off a ground ball sends Crane down the pipe for a solo bouncer past Boyd who didn't stand a chance.  Bainbridge led 6-3 with 8 minutes left in the third.  winning all of the draws in the second half, BI continued shooting at Boyd ending in a Goodman rip to the cage making the lead, 7-3 BI.  With 1:11 remaining in the third, Andrew Gulrajani found time and room and banged in the first score of the half for Bellevue.

The fourth quarter started out with intensity as both teams pick up the pace.  In the fourth minute, Bellevue's Eric Haehl rambled inside and dunked one past Scottheim to reduce BI's lead to 2.  Inside the last 5 minutes, Bethke rolled the cage and flips a one-hander underhanded into the net, to trail by one.  BI burned possession time, giving the Wolverines less than 2 minutes to rally the troops.  Bellevue began a hard core press against the Spartan defense, picking match-ups.  After a Bellevue time-out, Bellevue's Bethke gets stripped dodging on Lacy giving the Spartans the vital final possession, as they drop Bellevue in a great contest on the Island.

Players of the game
Bainbridge
Goodman 3g
Parker 2g 1a

Bellevue
Cole Johnson 1g 2a

Defensive player of the game -
Nick Lacy  2 key strips, 5 ground balls

Federspiel and Leggett both played strong defense overall for Bellevue.