The Portland Stags made their way north of the border to face the Vancouver Nighthawks and came away victorious to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Stags players had reason to go all out as the matchup was a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals in which the Nighthawks prevailed, 14-13.
The Nighthawks scored first, but the Stags began pulling away with a layout catch in the end zone by offensive cutter Cody Bjorklund.
The Stags’ defense only allowed two more goals in the first quarter while their offense continued to click to make the score 5-3 to end the first. After gaining the early lead, the Stags did not look back and held on to a small lead throughout the remainder of the game.
Each team scored seven goals in the second quarter, including a goal by each squad in the final minute before heading into halftime with the Stags still up by two scores, 12-10.
Defensive cutter Peter Woodside continued his phenomenal season for the Stags with three goals and two pass breakups in the first half.
“Our defensive line’s success is based on how well Peter Woodside has been playing,” said teammate Grant Cole. “He’s such a great target that it makes our job easier as handlers.”
The Nighthawks came out firing in the second half quickly scoring two goals to the Stags’ one to come within one goal, 13-12.
Portland was able to stave off the Nighthawks’ threat with their own offensive power. Timmy Perstonrepeatedly watched the disc sail into his hands in the end zone, increasing the Stags’ lead by three goals, 16-13.
The third quarter ended like the second with two quick scores by each team to make things 20-18 for the Stags.
The Stags put the pedal to the floor in the fourth quarter, increasing their lead another two goals for a final score of 24-20.
Coming in to the game, the Stags possessed the league’s strongest defense, allowing only 24 goals compared to the Nighthawks’ 35. By scoring twenty times, the Nighthawks proved to be the Stags’ toughest competitor this season, almost doubling the Stags’ defensive points allowed.
“We shouldn’t be allowing teams to score that many points,” said Cole. “This game was actually really close into the third quarter even though we felt like we were in control the whole game. We’re good enough that we should be able to develop a comfortable lead, and we never quite got there.”
Unfortunately for the Nighthawks, the Stags had a season high in points at 24, improving from their former high of 21.
Timmy Perston was the player of the game for the Stags, scoring four goals and assisting on two more. Defensive handler Grant Cole also had a career game offensively with four goals and an assist.
“That’s nice,” Cole said of his offensive onslaught. “My role is usually more of a reset, attack on the handler side, so for me to be able to score that many points is nice.”
The Stags were also benefited from impressive performances by Cody Bjorklund (1 goal, 5 assists),Steven Rice (3 goals, 1 assist), Dan Suppnick (3 assists, 1 block) and Riley Meinershagen (3 goals, 3 blocks).
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