Louisville, KY - The Lehigh Valley Flying Dutchmen came into Freedom Hall on Friday night for their inaugural game in the North American Lacrosse League. With a late start in the league, Lehigh Valley faced an uphill battle against the seasoned Kentucky Stickhorses squad who were looking to maintain their undefeated record in the Pro Invitational Season of the NALL. Lehigh Valley came in with a strong roster of players with box and professional field lacrosse experience and experienced leadership under Hunter Francis.

Kentucky avoided their typical penalty trouble in the first quarter, but still fell behind in familiar fashion 2-0 behind the speedy transition play of Lehigh Valley. Starting goalie Ginny Capicchioni confidently managed the early barrage as the Stickhorses struggled to find the vulnerabilities of Lehigh Valley's goaltender Adam Miller.

Stickhorses leading scorer Joel Zalesky started the turnaround for Kentucky with an electrifying behind-the-back goal after driving to the middle through the Lehigh Valley defense. Kentucky exploded for 6 goals in the second quarter and limited Lehigh Valley to only 1 second quarter goal while shorthanded 2 players.

Chippy play escalated in the second half, allowing both teams numerous power play opportunities as the game progressed. Scoring was mostly even throughout the second half, with Miller allowing 7 goals by Kentucky and Stickhorses goalie Patrick Crosby allowing 6 goals. Tensions reached a high point at the end of the game with Steve Panarelli of Kentucky and Bryn Holmes of Lehigh Valley each getting penalties for a tense scuffle near the Lehigh Valley bench.

Lehigh Valley scored their final goal off a save by Crosby that got knocked in by a Stickhorses defensive player diving to keep the ball out. But this and the numerous fourth quarter power play opportunities were not enough for Lehigh Valley to recover. The Stickhorses maintained their perfect record for the season with a final score of 14-10.

The next game for Kentucky will be a rematch against the Boston Rockhoppers as the closing game of the NALL Pro Invitational Season. Kentucky will face Boston on Saturday, April 7th at 7pm at Freedom Hall in Louisville.

STATS:
Score by quarter
1 - 3-1 LV
2 - 7-4 KY
3 - 11-7 KY
4 - 14-10 KY

Scorers:
Kentucky
Zalesky 5 (4 goals-1 assist)
Dube 4 (3-1)
Mitchell 3 (3-0)
Caufield 2 (1-1)
Schmidt 1 (1-0)
Derechinsky 1 (1-0)
O'Brien 1 (1-0)
Bice 1 (0-1)

Lehigh Valley
Synowicz 3 (3-0)
Toth 3 (2-1)
Mullen 3 (1-2)
Deckelbaum 2 (2-0)
Holmes 2 (1-1)
Castle 1 (1-0)
Furshman 1 (0-1)
Kenny 1 (0-1)

Saves
KY - Capicchioni 16 saves, 4 goals (1st half)
KY - Crosby 18 saves, 6 goals (2nd half)
LV - Miller 27 saves, 14 goals (game)

Penalty minutes
KY - 13 penalties for 28 minutes
LV - 9 penalties for 18 minutes