ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Goalkeeper John Galloway made a career-high 21 saves, including nine in the third quarter, as the Rochester Rattlers earned a 13-8 Major League Lacrosse victory over the Long Island Lizards in the front game of a home-and-home series at Sahlen's Stadium on Friday evening.
Galloway, who was named as the Bud Light Player of the Game for the second time in his MLL career, led a Rochester defense that matched a season low by allowing just eight points while ending the Lizards' five-game win streak.
After attackman Max Seibald gave Long Island a 1-0 lead just under three minutes into the opening stanza, the Rattlers answered with back-to-back goals from midfielders Jordan MacIntosh and Matt Striebel to gain a 2-1 advantage.
However, a pair of goals from midfielders Brian Langtry and Will Mangan gave Long Island a 3-2 edge at the end of the first quarter.
Trailing by the one-goal margin, the Rattlers started the second quarter by scoring three consecutive goals to turn the deficit into a 5-3 lead with 6:32 remaining in the first half. Attackman Grant Catalino narrowed the margin to 5-4 with 5:49 left before attackman Ned Crotty answered with a power-play marker with 3:49 remaining before the intermission.
The Rattlers used a pair of goals from defenseman Roy Lang and midfielder Kevin Drew to extend their advantage to 8-4 with just over nine minutes remaining in the third quarter. The teams exchanged goals before Seibald tallied an unassisted goal with 20 seconds left in the period, cutting the Lizards' deficit to 9-6.
The teams traded goals twice to begin the fourth quarter before MacIntosh and attackman Steven Boyle secured the victory for the Rattlers with a pair of unanswered goals.
While Galloway led the Rattlers defense, MacIntosh contributed a game-high four goals while Crotty added a pair of goals with an assist.
Seibald led Long Island in a losing effort with three goals and an assist while three different players posted a goal with an assist.
The teams will meet again on Saturday night at James M. Shuart Stadium.