Saturday, November 3, 2012
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Syracuse Silver Knights rewarded the faith of the 3,461 vocal fans, who saw their side rally to take a 16-10 victory against the Rochester Lancers on Saturday night at the OnCenter. Slavisa Ubiparipovic and Nelson Santana each scored in the fourth quarter as the Silver Knights bounced back from their defeat to Chicago on the opening night of the MISL season.
After a back and forth first half that saw the Knights take a 5-4 lead to the break on two goals from Matt Clare, the Lancers burst out of the gates to start the second half. Within 13 seconds, Rochester had take the lead on a goal by Rey Martinez. The Lancers then added two consecutive goals from set pieces, both by Mauricio Salles, turning the mood in the Onondaga County War Memorial from happy to dour as the Lancers took a 10-5 lead.
After a timeout by Syracuse coach Tommy Tanner, the Knights were able to regain control, and started their comeback with a 3-point goal by Santana that threaded its way into the bottom-left corner of the net. Syracuse followed up that strike with a goal by Darren Toby, set up by Ryan Mack to tied the game 10-10 at the end of the third quarter. The crowd roared with excitement, sensing momentum in the game had swung to the home side. They were rewarded with a goal early in the fourth quarter, Ubiparipovic scoring on a back-heel from close range after two quick passes found him in front of the net.
As Rochester pushed forward, the Knights focused on keeping their defensive shape and looking for opportunities to counter-attack. The Knights were able to add to their lead as Santana scored on a restart, putting them up 14-10, and despite a concerted effort by the Lancers to try to get back in the contest, Syracuse played smart defense, effectively killing clock or looking to counter for the balance of the contest, with Neto icing the victory late as his shot deflected off two Lancers before crossing the line and finding the twine. The crowd, far more vocal than during the opening night contest versus Chicago, congratulated the squad upon the final whistle with a solid round of applause.
The Knights hit the road for their next contest as the visit the Baltimore Blast at 1st Mariner Arena next Saturday night at 7:35 p.m. ET. The game will be available live on MISLNation.com.