Chaos take down Redwoods in overtime

Chaos vs Redwoods

Both the Chaos (1-1) and the Redwoods (1-1) met on Saturday with a winning record on the line. The Chaos were coming off a big 18-13 win over the Atlas, while the Redwoods were seeking to bounce back after their 10-9 loss against the Archers.

The Woods got rolling early with a two-pointer from Sergio Salcido and goal from Joe Walters. The Chaos battled back thanks to some big saves from Blaze Riorden and a goal from each of their attackmen Miles Thompson, Josh Byrne and Connor Fields to make it 3-3. Brent Adams, who’s scored in every game so far, gave the Redwoods the lead back with top-corner rip with 33 seconds left in the first quarter.

Both defenses were stalwart early in the second quarter until Connor Fields broke the scoring open to tie it 4-4 with just over six minutes remaining. Kavanagh regained the lead for the Redwoods with a beautiful behind-the-back goal. Yet the lead quickly vanished as the Chaos added three more goals to secure a 7-5 lead before the half.

The Chaos added another goal right out the gate in the third quarter, but the Redwoods quickly answered to make it 8-6. Then with just under seven minutes left in the third quarter, Mark Glicini took down Sergio Percovic as Percovic attempted to bull dodge. Troy Reh then came into slash Percovic which led to a scrum between both teams that saw Chaos defender Jack Rowlett cross-check Redwoods midfielder Nick Ossello and goaltender Riorden pick up Ossello and throw him to the ground. The action wasn’t over yet though, as Nick Ossello got up and threw a punch into the helmet of Riorden.

Once the scrum subsided, Mark Glicini was called for a hold and given a 30-second penalty, Jack Rowlett was called for a one-minute unsportsmanlike and Blaze Riorden was given a two-minute unsportsmanlike. Nick Ossello was given a two-minute unsportsmanlike penalty and a five-minute misconduct (which means he would sit out an extra five minutes once the teams were back at even strength). All of the penalties were non-releasable, and the ball was given to the Chaos despite them being down two men.

The Redwoods would regain possession and capitalize on the brief extra man opportunity before adding another late in the third quarter to tie the game 8-8. The Chaos would add another and take a 9-8 lead into the final quarter.

Kavanagh would tie it up early in the fourth and Ryder Garnsey’s underhand goal would give him his first PLL point and a 10-9 lead for the Redwoods.

Bright spots John Sexton who caused two turnovers on Connor Fields and forced Fields to score in mostly unsettled situations. Last week we discussed how the Redwoods struggled to get solid two-men play from their attack, and they delivered here with several goals scored off of pick plays.

However, the Chaos would tie the game up 10-10 on a hat trick goal from Miles Thompson with just seconds on the shot clock. Thompson would follow up his goal by feeding Jake Froccaro on a goal-ahead goal with under eight minutes remaining. Yet, the Redwoods struck back with Brent Adams’ third goal of the contest to tie it 11-11.

Following some critical, point-blank saves from keepers Tim Troutner and Riorden, Kyle Harrison had a chance to end the game in regulation, but Mark Glicini dove in front of his shot to send the game to overtime. The blocked shot proved to be crucial as the Chaos would win it in extra time on a Josh Byrne finish on the doorstep.

Chaos 12, Redwoods 11