Published: Friday, February 5, 2010
Stealth looking to improve on perfection
Despite a league-best 5-0 record, head coach Chris Hall says his team can still get better
Coach Chris Hall isn’t concerned with the huge target his undefeated Washington Stealth have become this season.
All he’s worried about is how well his team performs while targeted — starting with tonight’s National Lacrosse League matchup with Minnesota at Comcast Arena.
The face-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.
The lone unbeaten team in the NLL, Washington (5-0) has won three straight at home and two tight road contests.
“We only work on the things we can control,” Hall said when asked if there are adjustments to be made when you’re the top team in the standings. “We still have a way to go and we strive to continuously improve.”
The Swarm (1-3) beat Calgary in their second game of the season, but are winless in their past two outings, including a 15-14 overtime loss to Colorado on Jan. 22.
Last Saturday, Minnesota lost 11-7 to Buffalo, a team Washington beat 13-11 for its third win of the season.
“We had a ton of chances, we had numerous open looks,” Minnesota head coach Mike Lines said. “We just couldn’t bury the ball.”
Fifth-year pro Callum Crawford, a former San Jose Stealth forward, leads the Swarm with 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) and ninth-year forward Aaron Wilson is right behind with 18 points (10 goals, eight assists).
Forward Sean Pollock, in his seventh year in the league, has recorded three straight seasons of 60 points or more. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound forward has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) this season.
“We’ll have a couple different looks on offense, that’s for sure,” Lines said of trying to ignite a spark in his struggling offense.
The Swarm average 10 goals per game, considerably less than Washington’s league-leading 14.6 average. Minnesota suffered through a rocky offensive performance against Buffalo, out-shooting the Bandits 51-43, but scoring just seven goals.
Minnesota had the game tied at halftime, but suffered a second-half letdown and was outscored 6-2 as Buffalo goaltender Ken Montour finished with 44 saves.
Washington’s offense has had no problems staying on track, with forward Jeff Zywicki’s 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) leading the league. Lewis Ratcliff’s 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists), Rhys Duch’s 25 (eight goals, 17 assists) and Cam Sedgwick’s 20 (10 goals, 10 assists) have helped the Stealth maintain the league’s highest-scoring attack.
Second-year transition player Jamison Koesterer has jump started Washington’s offense with a .633 face-off percentage and 90 face-off wins, best in the league.
Defensively, the Stealth’s league-best .875 penalty-kill percentage and strong goaltending tandem of Matt Roik and Tyler Richards have held opposing teams to an average of just 10.4 goals per game.
“The mission is to worry about ourselves and how we’re playing,” Hall said.
All he’s worried about is how well his team performs while targeted — starting with tonight’s National Lacrosse League matchup with Minnesota at Comcast Arena.
The face-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.
The lone unbeaten team in the NLL, Washington (5-0) has won three straight at home and two tight road contests.
“We only work on the things we can control,” Hall said when asked if there are adjustments to be made when you’re the top team in the standings. “We still have a way to go and we strive to continuously improve.”
The Swarm (1-3) beat Calgary in their second game of the season, but are winless in their past two outings, including a 15-14 overtime loss to Colorado on Jan. 22.
Last Saturday, Minnesota lost 11-7 to Buffalo, a team Washington beat 13-11 for its third win of the season.
“We had a ton of chances, we had numerous open looks,” Minnesota head coach Mike Lines said. “We just couldn’t bury the ball.”
Fifth-year pro Callum Crawford, a former San Jose Stealth forward, leads the Swarm with 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) and ninth-year forward Aaron Wilson is right behind with 18 points (10 goals, eight assists).
Forward Sean Pollock, in his seventh year in the league, has recorded three straight seasons of 60 points or more. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound forward has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) this season.
“We’ll have a couple different looks on offense, that’s for sure,” Lines said of trying to ignite a spark in his struggling offense.
The Swarm average 10 goals per game, considerably less than Washington’s league-leading 14.6 average. Minnesota suffered through a rocky offensive performance against Buffalo, out-shooting the Bandits 51-43, but scoring just seven goals.
Minnesota had the game tied at halftime, but suffered a second-half letdown and was outscored 6-2 as Buffalo goaltender Ken Montour finished with 44 saves.
Washington’s offense has had no problems staying on track, with forward Jeff Zywicki’s 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) leading the league. Lewis Ratcliff’s 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists), Rhys Duch’s 25 (eight goals, 17 assists) and Cam Sedgwick’s 20 (10 goals, 10 assists) have helped the Stealth maintain the league’s highest-scoring attack.
Second-year transition player Jamison Koesterer has jump started Washington’s offense with a .633 face-off percentage and 90 face-off wins, best in the league.
Defensively, the Stealth’s league-best .875 penalty-kill percentage and strong goaltending tandem of Matt Roik and Tyler Richards have held opposing teams to an average of just 10.4 goals per game.
“The mission is to worry about ourselves and how we’re playing,” Hall said.
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