Some exciting offensive output by a number of teams in Week 4 of Fall Ball.  Game of the week, maybe year, happened between the Hounds and Nationals.  Lots of new names on the scoring sheet, and some exceptional goalie play.   Some highlights can be seen here (Week 4 Highlights)

GAME 1  This one was a bit lopsided to start the day, as the Machine continued their roll through the seedings games.  The Lizards just couldn't figure out the D enough to put one in, despite some good offensive opportunities and nice play at the midfield.  Holding the vaunted Machine offense to 10 goals could be considered a bit of success as well for the young Lizard Defense.  Its the 2nd lowest goal total of the season for the Machine, and Goalie Aiden Mahoney was a big reason for this with 9 saves.  On the other side, Warren Poh shut the Lizards out, making 6 saves in the contest.  Ruby and Burns each had a hat trick in the game, including a nice blast from the outside from both of them in the 2nd half.  This one was all Machine, who rolled to a 10-0 victory, and stay undefeated through the halfway point. 

GAME 2  The Cannons finally jumped above .500 with a week 4 W, in a defensive battle with the Rattlers.  Missing a few key Offensive players from their lineup, the Rattlers came to play, as Alberto Gutierrez and Miguel Garcia got them on the board in the first half.  Ben Morgan scored two for the Cannons in the first half, giving them a 3-2 lead, but then Sean McWilliams got a nice one for the Rattlers to tie it up 3-3.  Mikey Cerone notched a go ahead goal near the end of the first half to give the Cannons a 4-3 lead going into the half.  Longsticks and Goalies were excellent for both sides in this one, including Bruno Geolys 7 first half saves.  The 2nd half was another defensive expo, with the Rattlers unable to get back into the scoring column.  Cerone of the Cannons unleashed a nice outside blast (see highlight film here) and a pretty BTB goal, to complete his Hat Trick and seal a 6-3 victory for the Cannons.  Hats off to some strong D play on both sides in this one.

GAME 3  Game of the week, probably game of the year so far.  This one went right down to the wire between the Nationals and Hounds.  The Seesaw was in effect, as the Nationals hit the ground running.  3 different players scored to give them a 3-0 lead early.  Couple goals by the Hounds snuck past goalie Nic Escobar to make it 3-2,but then Wes Holthaus scored two nice goals, both off transition, and both assisted by Thomas Lopez.  Looked like the Nationals were in control with a 5-2 lead, the momentum, and less than 4 min left in the half.  But the Hounds weren't done...Johnny Beglin and Tyler Miller both scored nice off-hand goals, and the half ended 5-4 in favor of the Nationals.  The 2nd half saw the teams trading goals, with Millers 3rd goal of the game actually tying it 7-7, midway through the 2nd half. But a goal from Colin Merwin, and two more goals from Holthaus (including one off of Lopez's 3rd assist) made this a 10-7 game late in the 2nd half, and this one looked all but over.  You gotta give the Hounds some credit here.  Brandon Eltejean made some key stops, and the Hounds D tightened up big time, and Henry Holden, down but not out after some 1st half challenges, made a run.  Holden scored, then assisted, then scored again for 3 unanswered goals on the Hounds side, and this one was tied 10-10 with under a minute!  The fans, the stands, the coaches, and the benches were going wild!!  The Nationals had to be wondering if they were headed to their 2nd tie game in a row, after an 8-8 finish with the Cannons in Week 3.  But Escobar and Merwin decided they were not going to let that happen.  (See Highlights here, starting at 2:40) The final faceoff was controlled by the Hounds, but Escobar makes a save with 17 seconds left on the clock, and then sends a dime pass to midfield.  The midfielder sends it to Merwin, who makes a spin dodge from the wing, and with just 5 seconds left in the game the lefty attackman puts some high heat into the top left corner for his 4th goal of the day to win it, 11-10, and preserve their unbeaten record in 2014 Fall Ball.  Merwin and Holthaus had 4 apiece for the Nationals, while Miller led the Hounds with his Hat Trick. 

GAME 4  The final game of the night proved interesting on one side.  The Outlaws were shortstaffed and overmatched in this one, and the Bayhawks took advantage.  Chuck Stephenson burst onto the scoring scene with 4 goals in this one, a couple off his own FO wins and fast breaks.  Zach Levitan and Matt Seligson also chipped in 4 goals apiece as the Bayhawks outran the Outlaws D, and finished with a number of nice goals on the inside.  A bright spot for the Outlaws came from Josh Spain, who had a long distance blast in the first half, and a nice goal at the final buzzer with the LongPole, to lead the Outlaws scoring with his 2 goals.  After losing their first 3 by pretty close margins, the Bayhawks flexed their muscles in this one finishing with a 15-3 victory. 

Looking forward to some more great action in Week 5!!