Division games are always a spectacle, but this early season matchup between the heavy hitting Stuttgart offense and the defensive juggernaut known as Karlsruhe Storm had the making of something particularly special.
For the first ten minutes both teams help strong with saves and defensive stops until the scoring was opened by Stuttgart and a game that would be a spectacular back and forth tug of war was officially begun. Soon thereafter Karlsruhe scored twice in quick succession to make the score 2:1 heading into the second quarter.
To start the 2nd Stuttgart came out swinging taking two goals early on and taking the lead before our Storm MVP Lovis secured the tie with an excellent goal line extended move to break down the defense.
The second half was no less exciting with a flurry of goals to start that ended with a 6:5 tally in favor of Stuttgart to end the 3rd. However the lead was short lived as at the start of the 4rth Karlsruhe began to dominate with three unanswered goals to take the largest lead in this slugfest of a game at 8:6.
The game did not go quietly however, as in the final minute of regular play Stuttgart landed two goals on broken plays to tie up the score and force overtime. When play resumed the field felt small as both teams went back and forth consistently making stops and excellent saves until finally, with a ten yard shot on a high angle and solid play, Stuttgart buried the game winner at 65:27 on the clock.
Though there may not be moral wins in the sport of lacrosse and only one team can take home the victory, this game was as close to an exception as you can get. Both team brought their love for the sport and their passion to win on full display and left everything on the field for the full span of the game, leading me to say it was a pleasure and an honor to share the field with them. I dont know about you, but i am looking forward to the rematch and another 60+ minutes of the beautiful game. Go Storm!
