(Scroll down for photos.)
San Diego, CA – The LXM Pro Challenge Presented by Champion Athleticwear had their final stop on the 2012 tour Saturday night and the stars of LXM saved their best performance for last. In front of an electric crowd of players and parents from the Adrenaline Challenge spectators witnessed Team STX and Team Sole going toe to toe for all four quarters. In a game that featured 9 lead changes and 8 ties the crowd was treated to a little bit of everything.
After his record setting 7-goal performance in Las Vegas, Sam Bradman started right where he left off and beat former Salisbury teammate Johnny Rodriguez to give Team STX the early 1-0 lead. Team STX would then extend the lead to 3-0 after Max and Xander Ritz would each tally early goals. Team Sole would respond nicely with a 6 goal run of their own. Sean Lindsay and Brandon Corp would score twice, while Johnny Christmas and Geoff Worley each got one. With 7 seconds left in the 1st quarter game MVP Shamel Bratton would stop the Team Sole run and score his 1st of 4 in the game.
Trailing 6-4, Team STX pulled within 1 goal after Sam Bradman started the 2nd quarter the same way he did the 1st. Shamel Bratton tied the game at 6-6, but Team Sole regained the lead after Johnny Christmas backed up Matt Drenan and snuck one passed him and Matt Russell for his 2nd. Max Ritz would tie it up, shortly thereafter Kyle Harrison would score his 1st only to be matched moments later by Brandon Corp. Then Johnny Christmas found the net for his 3rd, to give Team Sole a 9-8 lead. Team STX answered back with the last 2 goals of the half, first by Nick Tintle off a feed from Rhamel Bratton then his brother Shamel would score with 1:08 left in the half to give Team STX a 10-9 lead at half.
After an offensive explosion in the 1st half, both defenses clamped down in the 2nd. Led by the goalkeepers for both squads, Team STX Matt Russell and Team Sole Johnny Rodriguez continued to make highlight reel saves throughout the half to keep their teams alive. Midway through the 3rd quarter, Team Sole would strike first when Brandon Corp recorded his 4th of the game, tying the game at 10. Syracuse Alum Sean Lindsay would momentarily put Team Sole up after his 3rd, but local newcomer Bobby Davis (VMI) would enter the stat sheet after getting free after a beautiful pick from Maxx Davis with 4 minutes in the quarter. That would be the last goal of the quarter as teams headed into the 4th all locked at 11.
The goal of the game came with 11:30 in the 4th quarter. With a man up opportunity, Team Sole rode a Team STX clear and after causing a turnover, Sean Lindsay picked up a ground ball and threw a cross field pass to JR Oreskovich, then dumped it to Brandon Corp who went behind the back beating Russell. However, six seconds later Ben DeFelice took a clean face and went right down the middle knotting the game at 12. After being held in check most of the night Kyle Harrison’s 2nd goal would prove to be the game winner. Displaying his vintage move, Harrison dodged the alley and beat Rodriguez stick side high. Shamel Bratton and Mike VonKamecke would pad Team STX’s lead in the final minutes for a Team STX 15-12 win.
This was the final stop on the 2012 LXM Pro Tour. Team Sole’s Brandon Corp led all scorers with 5 goals. Game MVP went to Team STX’s Shamel Bratton. Learn more about LXM by visiting LXMPRO.com.
