Season Opening Loss to Boston, 15-12
BOSTON, Mass. - Led by three goals and four assists from attackman Ryan Boyle, the Boston Cannons (1-0) opened the 2011 Major League Lacrosse season with a 15-12 victory over the Long Island Lizards (0-1) in front of 9,122 fans at Harvard Stadium on Saturday night.

Boyle, who was named as the Bud Light MVP, scored two of his three goals in the second half as the Cannons broke away from a one-point lead by scoring eight goals in the second half.

After midfielder Stephen Peyser gave the Lizards a quick 2-0 advantage with a two-point goal in the first four minutes of the game, the Cannons answered by scoring four straight goals over a five-minute span to take a 4-2 lead with 4:15 remaining in the opening stanza. Boyle tallied two of his four assists during the run.

But, the Lizards answered by scoring twice in the first 90 seconds of the second quarter to even the score at 4-4 on goals by midfielder Keith Cromwell and attackman Tommy Davis.

The teams traded goals twice, including a two-point marker from Boston midfielder Brad Ross, to give the Cannons a 7-6 lead at the intermission.

The teams came out of the half-time break and exchanged goals two times before the Cannons went on a four-goal run, including a goal and an assist from Boyle, to take a 13-8 lead just over two minutes into the fourth quarter.

Midfielder Stephen Berger scored off a feed from midfielder Chris Fiore to end the Cannons' run, but Boyle countered with his third goal of the game, an unassisted marker past goalkeeper Drew Adams with 6:31 remaining.

Despite scoring three of the final four goals in the final six minutes, the Lizards were unable to take the lead as the Cannons earned the victory.

While Boyle led the Cannons with his seven-point effort, midfielder Pat Heim contributed a goal with two assists while Ross scored a two-point goal with a pair of assists. Goalkeeper Kip Turner made 21 saves as the Cannons were outshot by a 52-49 margin.

Peyser scored two goals, including a two-pointer, for the Lizards in a losing effort while attackman Tim Goettelmann added a pair of markers.

The Lizards will continue their season-opening road trip next Saturday when they travel to Rochester to face the Rattlers. Meanwhile, the Cannons will host Denver next Saturday at Harvard Stadium.

Major League Lacrosse: Boston Cannons 15, Long Island Lizards 12
Long Island (0-1) 2-4-2-4 / 12
Boston (1-0) 4-3-4-4 / 15

One-Point Goals: LI - Tim Goettelmann 2, Tommy Davis 1, Keith Cromwell 1, Stephen Berger 1, Nick O'Hara 1, Stephen Peyser 1, Chris Fiore 1, Chris Unterstein 1, Matt Danowski 1; BOS - Ryan Boyle 3, Matt Poskay 2, Matt Stone 2, Kevin Buchanan, Pat Heim 1, Greg Downing 1. Two-Point Goals: LI - Stephen Peyser 1; BOS - Brad Ross 1. assists: LI - Tommy Davis 1, Chris Fiore 1, Chris Unterstein 1, Matt Danowski 1, Mike Unterstein 1; BOS - Ryan Boyle 4, Pat Heim 2, Brad Ross 2, Chris Eck 1, Matt Casey 1, J.J. Morrissey 1. Saves: LI - Drew Adams 14 (60:00, 14 goals allowed); BOS - Kip Turner 21 (60:00, 11 goals allowed). Shots: LI - 52; BOS - 49. Power-Play Opportunities: LI - 1 for 4; BOS - 3 for 6. Attendance: 9,122.