Swarm Clinch First Trip to Postseason Since 2019 with 13-9 Win Against Desert Dogs
Photo Credit: Asher Green/Georgia Swarm
For the first time since 2019, the Georgia Swarm (10-7) are heading to the postseason, clinching their playoff berth with a 13-9 win against the Las Vegas Desert Dogs (4-12) at Gas South Arena on Saturday. The first meeting ever between the two teams was a close affair for most of the game before Brett Dobson and the defense shut the door on the visiting club for the last 13:40 min.
Playing in his first game since the end of February, Charlie Bertrand broke open the scoring in the contest. A pair of Swarm goals put them ahead before a Zack Greer power play goal tied the game up. Georgia would go on a three-goal run, capped by a Brendan Bomberry power play marker. Connor Kirst and Greer had the final say of the frame, with the Desert Dogs behind 5-4.
Shayne Jackson’s goal off the bench was the Swarm’s last marker of the first half. Defenses dug in, and Vegas potted a pair to even the score at 6 apiece heading into halftime.
An S. Jackson extra attacker goal and Kew long-range shot put the Swarm back up by two. Bomberry received a 5-min. major penalty for an illegal body check on Jake Saunders. While it took nearly the whole five minutes, the Desert Dogs were more than happy to capitalize on the man-advantage, with Casey Jackson’s equalizer coming with just seven seconds left on the 5-on-4. Las Vegas went 3-4 on the power play against the Swarm, an area the coaches challenged the players to be better at coming into the game.
“When we went 3-for-9 against Vancouver (on March 30),” Desert Dogs general manager and head coach Shawn Williams remarked, “it’s like we had a couple of chances to win on the power play in a couple of games here, and we didn’t. When you look at the stats, it’s not saying we would have won, but based on stats, we could’ve, right? So, we challenged them to dial it in and make sure — losing Greerzo didn’t help,” — Greer left the game after suffering a lower body injury in the second quarter — “because he’s definitely the guy that’s the clutch guy for our power play. But it was big for Dylan (Watson) to score that last goal; top cheese on a good buddy of his in (Brett) Dobson, so that was nice.”
Bryan Cole would take charge from there. He recorded the go-ahead goal on a deft rebound of a Lyle Thompson shot and beat the buzzer by a hair to put the Swarm up 10-8 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bertrand’s second of the game cut the differential to just a goal, but Dobson and the Swarm defense made sure that was the last time their opponent would find the back of the net. While they were holding down their side of the floor, Kew recorded his hat trick with a step-down from the point on a power play. S. Jackson netted his third and fourth goals of the contest, putting the contest out of reach. The Swarm ensured they will play in May with a 13-9 win.
Photo Credit: Asher Green/Georgia Swarm
Jack Hannah led the team with 6 points, all assists. C. Jackson and Dylan Watson were next in points with 3 (2G, 1A) the same way. No right-handed players found the back of the net for the Desert Dogs.
“I thought our D did a good job of being aggressive,” Swarm head coach Ed Comeau said. “Hannah’s a guy that can really make you miss, and I thought we did a really good job of staying with him and not falling for the big jukes that he does. We did a good job of getting out in shooting lanes. When they did get shots, we gave Dobber a clear line of vision on it, and we also blocked some shots, too. It wasn’t a one-time or one thing planned. It was all of those things, and the guys did a great job.”
Landon Kells was handed the loss, his sixth consecutive loss, after making 39 saves for a .750 Sv%.
“We just played another good team, and we held in there against them, man,” Williams said. “It was right there. Shoulda, woulda, coulda; we have a lot of shoulda, woulda, coulda’s. I think that’s all part of being a young team is the shoulda, woulda, coulda’s, and we’re learning how to get rid of those and become that team that can get over that hump. Unfortunately over the last six, we just haven’t been able to. We’ve had leads, but this league has a lot of good players, a lot of veteran players. We’re just not quite there, yet, as a full unit of veterans, and that’s all part of it. We just really learn from it, and it benefits us in the end.”
For the Swarm, Kew’s 6 points (3G, 3A) led the team in scoring, followed by Seth Oakes with 5 points (1G, 4A). Dobson made 47 saves for an .839 Sv%.
Photo Credit: Asher Green/Georgia Swarm
Transition Player of the Year Candidates
The 2023-24 NLL Transition Player of the Year will be the most competitive end of season award category this summer, and two players on Saturday showcased why for different reasons.
Bryan Cole’s two goals Saturday were absolute stunners. The body control he displayed to keep his toes at the edge of the crease as he corralled a weird rebound off a great Kells’ save and dunked it past him was incredible. Minutes later, his step-down heater from the sponsorship logo just barely beat Kells and the shot clock, which initially seemed to have gone off before the ball crossed the goal line; a challenge from Williams was unsuccessful, as the refs upheld the goal upon review.
“Sometimes when you’re bringing the ball up in those situations,” Comeau remarked on Cole’s extra attacker tally, “the guy who passes the ball up, the guy teams forget about is the guy who started the play with the ball. From our bench where we were, it was a great shot. It was a perfect shot.”
Those two goals were a microcosm of Cole’s game. No player logs more shifts for the Swarm than the 30-year-old, who is doing everything for his team except wear goalie pads.
“Colesy’s huge for us,” Comeau said. “Other than Dobber, he plays more minutes than anyone. He plays face-off team, he plays power play, he plays man-short, offense, defense — we expect big things out of him, and he delivered tonight.”
Photo Credit: Asher Green/Georgia Swarm
Saturday was the first time Connor Kirst played against the team that brought him into the NLL. The American’s production has been incredibly steady over the last five games, as he’s stepped into a bigger role after Williams traded John Wagner to the Albany FireWolves. Kirst has scored at least a goal in each of those contests, his marker on Saturday a flat shot from the parking lot that blistered past Dobson.
The 26-year-old was everywhere, using all of his 6-foot-3, 230-pound frame to be a terror on defense and hiking it up the floor for numerous transition chances. His game is all the more incredible when you remember he had no box lacrosse experience when the Swarm signed him as a street free agent in 2021.
“I watched all the Georgia games (back in 2021-22), and I’m like, ‘We’re taking a chance on this guy,’” Williams recalled about deciding to pick the eldest Kirst in the expansion draft. “Obviously watching what he did in college and all the goals he scored and then all his brothers were doing early as they’re coming up and stuff — but the biggest thing for me was finding some of the American guys that want to play box. Just the fact that he played so many games with these guys (the Swarm) and was an integral part, and he was learning. ‘Man, we’re going to take a shot on this guy.’”
No one expected Kirst to be as good as he’s been for the Desert Dogs. The talent was clearly there, but the experience wasn’t, a not insignificant hurdle. It hasn’t mattered for the Rutgers alum. In three short years, Kirst has gone from boxla neophyte to a dark horse for Transition Player of the Year.
“I hope he’s in the mix, because man, he doesn’t give up,” Williams said. “All those breakaways he’s getting, and he’s turning some over now. He’s got six or seven goals (in the last few games). He’s definitely ours (TPotY) for sure.”
Cole and Kirst’s stellar yet different styles of play feed into the debate of what deserves a Transition Player of the Year award. Do you consider a player excelling on offense and defense a worthy candidate? Does it go to a defender with stifling defense that deals damage with abandon in transition?
It’s a question we’ll ponder heavily when it’s time to vote on NLL end of season awards. For now, it’s enough to be properly awed by two transition players and the diverse skills they bring to the floor in every game.