Talk about taking advantage of a golden opportunity.
With 2:34 left in the first half of the Bayhawks? 17-16 overtime win over the New Jersey Pride Saturday at Johnny Unitas Stadium, rookie midfielder Joe Boulukos found the net on his very first shot.
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“I was gripping the stick a little tight, but when the first one went in I started to loosen up a bit,” said a soaking-wet Boulukos after a rainy but successful night. “It was a weight off my shoulders. I wanted to get in there and make an impact right away.”
Boulukos, who was acquired in a July 7 trade with the Philadelphia Barrage, added a second goal in his Bayhawks? debut, and despite limited playing time, he proved to be a solid contributor.
“Joe played great,” Bayhawks coach Scott Hiller said. “He just met most of the guys, but he?s still very confident out there. He didn?t try to do too much, and he just made things happen.”
After trailing 8-3, Boulukos and the Bayhawks charged back to tie the game with six seconds remaining in regulation. Attackman Mark Millon won the game 52 seconds into overtime.
Boulukos graduated from Cornell last spring with 89 goals ? 10th on the school?s career scoring list. As a senior, he was a first team All-American and the Ivy League Player of the Year.
“We clicked right away when I fed him and he hit the low shot,” said midfielder Kyle Dixon, who assisted on Boulukos? first goal. “We started running with the other midfielders, just freelancing, and it worked out really well.”
With the victory, the Bayhawks improved to 4-5 and moved out of last place in Major League?s Lacrosse Eastern Division. Next up is the Barrage Thursday night (7:30) in Philadelphia.
