Orlin & Cohen Riptide Postgame Report: Riptide Fall In Overtime 13-12

Uniondale, NY (December 4, 2021) – After New York Riptide forward Connor Kearnan tied the game with just 2.7 seconds left, Thomas Hoggarth ultimately scored in overtime to push the Rochester Knighthawks to a 13-12 win Saturday night in the first Riptide game played since March 7, 2020.

The New York Riptide took the field once again in front of a raucous crowd at Nassau Coliseum. With decibel levels high and the team motivated, the Riptide quickly jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, on the first NLL career goal for forward Jeff Teat.

“I got a great up-seal, went underneath, almost fell, but you just have to keep going.” Teat said. “Thankfully, I just had enough momentum.”

In the second quarter, forward Callum Crawford scored his first as a member of the Riptide and Tyson Gibson followed it up to tie the game at five. But as Knighthawks forward Holden Cattoni scored his first two goals of the game, it was ultimately a Jake Fox goal for New York to end the second quarter that cut the lead to 7-6 heading into the halftime break.

A back-and-forth opening to the second half saw the Riptide down 8-7 and heading to a penalty kill. As the Knighthawks began to set up the offense, the ball was poked loose and quickly scooped up by Riptide defender Scott Dominey. Dominey carried it the length of the floor, before defenders caught up to him. However, the 6-foot Toronto native split the defense and put the ball behind his head and into the back of the net to cut the lead to one.

The Riptide found themselves down 9-8 heading into the fourth frame and two straight goals just 28 seconds into the quarter pushed Rochester ahead by three. But with the crowd on their side, Riptide forward Connor Kearnan and Teat netted a pair of goals just 24 seconds apart to cut the lead to one. Hoggarth scored for the Knighthawks just 22 seconds later and pushed the lead back up to two. The teams would go almost 10 minutes without a goal for either side before Jeff Teat finished off his first career hat trick with just 1:24 to play in regulation. Kearnan’s tying goal with just 2.7 seconds left sent the game to overtime and the Riptide ultimately would see the game slip away just 90 seconds into the extra frame.

Even through heartbreak of the loss, the Riptide saluted the crowd and applauded them, just as they had been cheered on throughout the 60 minutes.

“We can’t do what we do if it’s not for them.” Crawford said. “It’s exciting to see faces who allow us to do what we love, so when we play it’s for them. That is professional sports and I think sometimes we miss that in any sport or league. So it’s exciting to go out there and we want to win for them.”

The Riptide are back in action on Friday night as they take on the Philadelphia Wings on the road at 7:30pm at Wells Fargo Center. Be sure to tune in to ESPN+ on television and WRHU Radio Hofstra University on the radio and web for coverage and follow @NewYorkRiptide on social media for updates.