In a meeting between the top two teams in the MLU Western Conference, the Portland Stags earned a 20-18 victory against the Seattle Rainmakers.
With the win, the Stags are now undefeated at home during the 2015 regular season.
After clinching a home playoff game last week, the Stags wanted to experiment more this game. Although their offense had a few miscues along the way, their defense applied enough pressure to make Seattle attempt low percentage passes and commit turnovers throughout the first half.
“For about half the game we mixed players into new roles to give people opportunities to see what they could do in different positions and give some of the players who haven’t played a lot some more time,” said Stags head coach Danny Quarrell.
Portland scored first, but Seattle answered back after each Portland goal until the score was 3-3 near the end of the first quarter.
Ben McGinn, Timmy Perston and Cody Bjorklund led the way for the Stags in the first quarter, connecting for six points among them including goals and assists.
“I worked with a lot of guys I haven’t worked with before, so that was neat to see and a good experience,” said Bjorklund.
The Rainmakers found success early when they utilized their cutters’ speed and threw quick passes to tire the Stags defense before hucking the disc downfield for goals.
“Their offense has gotten better throughout the year,” said Quarrell. “They had a stretch there where I think they scored on hucks four or five times in a row, and we didn’t adjust quick enough. And when we thought we had adjusted, they scored another one.”
Overall the Stags’ depth and tough defense proved to be too much for the Rainmakers. Sean Parkerinterrupted a seemingly simple Rainmakers’ pass which turned into a quick break point for the Stags. Vihn Bui added another defensive highlight when he snagged the disc in midair to end the first quarter with the Stags ahead 5-3.
After Portland built their lead to three goals in the second quarter, Seattle came within one goal at 6-5 when they converted a Stags turnover into a break point.
From there, each team matched the other’s goals, and turnovers abounded as both squads tried distance passes and overthrew their targets or tipped passes away.
The Stags did regain a thee-point lead at 9-6, but the Rainmakers defended a Stags pass and scored a break point to come within two goals.
As time expired in the first half, a large crowd of Seattle players gathered in the end zone waiting for the disc to come back to earth, but their plan was foiled by Portland’s defensive stalwart Peter Woodside who grabbed the disc amidst the swarm of Rainmakers.
The pattern continued in the third quarter as the Stags built another three-goal lead only to have it systematically demolished by the Rainmakers. At 13-13, Seattle had their first tie since the first quarter when it was 3-3.
Timmy Perston broke the scoring drought for the Stags, but the Rainmakers matched their point to even the score again at 14 near the end of the third quarter.
With all the momentum in their camp and their fans who traveled down I-5 cheering them on, the Rainmakers looked positioned to take their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter.
The Stags had different plans, however, and after four turnovers and tough defense by both teams, Bjorklund passed way downfield to a streaking Perston with two seconds left on the clock to put the Stags up by one.
A delay of game penalty added time to the clock, and the Stags were able to bat down a Rainmakers pass which set up another break point, leaving the Stags with a 16-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Unfazed by Portland’s unexpected goals, Seattle immediately got back within one point on a soaring pass downfield to begin the fourth quarter.
Offensive handler Steve Kenton threw a hammer to the Stags’ most consistent target in Timmy Perston to increase their lead to two goals again.
Seattle seriously threatened Portland at 17-16, but two turnovers led to more points for the Stags who increased their lead to 20-16.
At this point the Rainmakers appeared tired and although they scored the final two points of the game to come within two, the Stags held on for another win.
The Stags have a bye week before closing out the season with their first night game against the Vancouver Nighthawks on Saturday, June 27 at 6:00 p.m. in Vancouver.
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