BUFFALOES EDGE ARMORY

(Rochester, NY)... For only the second time in league history, the Buffaloes boast a winning record. The Buffaloes improved to 2-1 after edging the Armory in a close one, 9-8, at The Blue Cross Arena on Monday night. 

“I think the guys are really buying into what OC (Ethan O’Connor) and I are preaching offensively and defensively,” Belter said. “When you’re getting the buy-in, we’re making new mistakes, right? We’re not harping on the same thing 100 times; we’re making new mistakes, allowing us to continue to teach.”

The Buffaloes were led by Loyola University Maryland’s Ryan McGorry with three goals and three assists, while Japanese native Yamada Tetsuya posted two goals and three assists. Jarrod Brant stood on his head with 44 saves. After the game, Tetsuya could use Google Translate to talk about his experiences in the Upstate Collegiate Box Lacrosse League (UCBLL) so far. 

“I came to America because I want to learn box lacrosse. I chose this environment where I can play with NLL coaches and very high-level teammates,” Tetsuya said. “My teammates are very physical, agile, and skilled in lacrosse, and they’ve welcomed us (Kensaku Kobayashi) and given us a sense of international connection.”

The Armory was without leading scorer Clifford Gaston; what they lost in star scoring, they found from the group with six multi-point scorers. Alec Constable (2+3) led the team for the second game in a row with five points, while Matt Belles scored two late goals. William Dempsey got his first start of the season, making 34 saves. 

The Armory was the first on the board. Constable got to the crease to find his way past Brant. On the next possession, they cashed in again, this time with the combination of Trent Jackson and TJ Carl. From there the first quarter was all Buffaloes, orchestrated by the inside play of Tetsuya.

The Buffaloes got onto the board thanks to the two-man game of McGorry and Tetsuya. The former dishing to the latter on the crease. Tetsuya tied the game next after he scooped up a rebound on the crease and sent it over the back of Dempsey for a clean slate at 2-2. That wasn’t it for them. The Armory got called for their second delay of game penalty in the quarter's final minutes, and the Buffaloes scored in the final 10 seconds of the man advantage. Then Connor Boss scored off the faceoff to double the lead at 4-2.

The Armory, driven by its defense, found a run of its own next. After the first quarter, the Armory held the Buffaloes scoreless for over 28 minutes. Unfortunately for them, they only scored four goals in that time. Constable was constantly pulling the strings; he tallied three assists on the four goals, all from different scorers. 

The Buffaloes took advantage of their two extra-man opportunities in the second half, scoring on both of them. The first was their only goal of the third quarter and only their fourth shot of the quarter. Tetsuya ran the point and fed to Kobayashi to bring the game within one.

“I feel like it started in the third quarter. We got complacent,” Constable said. “When we’re moving into the fourth quarter, we’re still winning, and then they start coming back. We just need to keep our foot on the pedal and make each possession count because I feel like we get too stagnant sometimes, and, basically, it just comes down to working hard every possession.”

The Buffaloes opened the fourth with momentum on their side and came through McGorry's stick. He buried two in a row to flip the lead. Matt Belles tied the game again, finishing a drive into the hole, but the Armory would face the Buffalo power play again. Dylan Snow scored 45 seconds into the power play as the inside option for the extra-man group. 

The icing came late, from Michael Buffamonti driving across the goalmouth and finally beating Dempsey in transition. Constable scored a late penalty shot, but time ran out on the Armory’s chances of overtime. As for the Buffaloes, they boast two wins for the first time in franchise history. 

The Buffaloes and Armory will both only practice through the Fourth of July weekend. The Buffaloes will play against the Rapids at The Classic Rink on July 8. The Armory will face the Hawkeyes next at The Blue Cross Arena on July 11.