Balanced effort propels Riptide over Albany

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Same score and same result.

The New York Riptide made it back-to-back 13-10 victories Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum when it knocked off Albany for a third time this season behind four goals from Connor Kearnan and nine points from Jeff Teat.

Six others added a goal for the Riptide, which defeated Philadelphia by the same score a week earlier and now sits at 4-9 with five games remaining including the last four on the road. Teat (six), Kieran McArdle (five) and Mike Burke combined for 15 assists, and goaltender Cameron Dunkerley made 35 saves as New York kept is playoff hopes alive.

“We’ve stuck together the whole season and try to improve each week,” said Teat, who leads the National Lacrosse League with 105 points, totaling 45 goals and 60 assists.

All three of Teat’s goals against the FireWolves came in the second quarter Saturday night to help the Riptide build an 8-4 lead at intermission. It led 4-2 after the first quarter on the strength of goals by Scott Dominey, Kearnan, Dan Lomas and Burke. Teat set up Lomas and Burke.

“It’s the second game in a row we’ve had pretty good production from the entire offense,” Riptide head coach Dan Ladouceur said. “Jeff is going to get his points, but the other guys need to do their part and that’s what we’ve been getting from everyone else.”

“We did a good job finding lanes and we shot very well,” he added. “It was a game we needed and it’s on to the next one.”

New York increased its lead to 13-6 by the midway mark of the fourth quarter. Albany’s Connor Kelly opened the second-half scoring before Tyler Digby, Larson Sundown and Kearnan found the back of the net to put the hosts up by five.

Kearnan and Jack Kelly opened the fourth with goals to keep the gas pedal down. The FireWolves (2-10) scored the last four goals to make the final respectable.  

Next up for the Riptide is the home finale this Saturday, March 25 against Georgia at 7:30 p.m. The teams will also meet six days later with the Swarm (3-8) hosting. New York concludes the regular season with April trips to Buffalo, Halifax and Vancouver.

“Georgia is fighting for a playoff spot too,” Ladouceur said. “We have to be sharp in our own end and make the most of our possessions.”

For a second straight year, the Riptide partnered with the Boomer Esiason Foundation (BEF) and Westhampton Beach Brewing Co. to raise awareness and resources for the cystic fibrosis community.

Following Saturday’s victory, custom-designed BEF jerseys worn by players were signed by them as well as Boomer Esiason and WFAN Morning Show co-host Gregg Giannotti. The jerseys will be made available for auction this Wednesday, March 22. More information can soon be found on newyorkriptide.com.

“Our entire organization is honored to have the opportunity to further elevate and educate the battle against cystic fibrosis,” said Riptide General Manager and Executive Vice President Rich Lisk. “We are extremely grateful to partner with the Boomer Esiason Foundation to raise awareness for CF with the support of the Westhampton Beach Brewing Co., both of which proudly represent the Long Island community.”