New York Saints

The New York Saints seem to have some problems getting over the hump and making a trip to the postseason. In 1998, the Saints recovered from an 0-4 start to spend late March in the thick of a playoff race, but fell apart late and finished in sixth place. Likewise in 1999, the Saints stumbled early and battled back to temporarily hold fourth place. Once again, however, they couldn't win when it really counted, and again finished out of playoff position.

One team always get odd scheduling early in the season -- a product of building availability and of having an odd number of teams in the league -- and in 1999, it was New York. After playing in the league's season opener, 26 December, the Saints weren't scheduled to play again for nearly a month, leaving the team with much more time to iron out problems than other team would have. They went into their "second preseason" on a good note, upsetting Rochester, 12-11, at the Blue Cross Arena.

Instead of using their month-long hiatus to improve, though, the Saints went downhill. A run of four straight losses almost to the end of February -- the first two being one-goal home defeats -- landed the Saints in sixth place. In a rare Sunday afternoon game (28 February), the Saints began their turnaround, defeating the Syracuse Smash, 13-8. Defeating the Buffalo Bandits on the road put the Saints at 3-4 and back in the race.

Following a home loss to Rochester, New York recorded a weekend sweep, with one-goal victories at home against Philadelphia and at Syracuse on 26-27 March. Now at 5-5 and in sole possession of fourth place, a playoff spot was New York's to lose.

And, of course, the Saints lost it. A 10-9 defeat at Philadelphia pulled the Saints into a tie with the Wings for the final playoff spot. New York either had to win and hope Rochester defeated the Wings, or trounce the first-place Toronto Rock and hope the Knighthawks could do the same to the Wings (in order to catch up to Philadelphia on a tiebreaker). The Saints held close to the Rock, but Toronto was too much, coming from behind to post a 10-9 victory.

Now, the Saints' last chance was for Rochester to win by nine goals the next night. Alas, the Wings held close enough to Rochester to virtually ensure they would win the last playoff berth, and officially did so by losing by the identical 10-9 score the Saints lost by the night before. With both teams tied at 5-7, having split the season series, and having scored the same number of goals in their two head-to-head meetings, the tie was broken by season-long goal differential, which the Wings (153 - 153 = 0) were better than the Saints (149 - 156 = -7).

 # Name                 Ht   Wt Age Exp College
 2 Sal LoCascio (G)   5-11  240  31  9  U. of Massachusetts
 3 Roy Colsey          6-0  195  25  3  Syracuse Univ.
 6 Chris Massey       5-11  185  22  R  Princeton Univ.
 9 Gordon Purdie       5-7  177  32  9  Adelphi  
10 Steve Kisslinger    6-1  200  29  6  Towson State  
11 John Gagliardi      6-0  191  24  1  Johns Hopkins  
12 Vinnie Sombrotto    6-0  185  40  7  Hofstra
13 Joe Brock          5-10  170  23  R  NY Tech  
13 Tyson Leies         6-2  206  29  3  None 
15 Darren Lowe         5-9  180  28  2  Brown  
18 Randy Fraser        6-0  190  30  8  Springfield College  
19 Tom Naglieri        5-7  170  27  1  Adelphi  
21 Eric Seremet        6-0  180  28  6  North Carolina  
22 Jason Wulder        6-0  185  28  4  None
23 Tim Langton         6-5  210  24  2  Towson State  
24 Matt Panetta        6-1  205  29  7  Johns Hopkins  
25 Steve Sombrotto    5-11  185  30  7  LIU C.W. Post  
26 Blake Miller        6-0  185  26  2  Hofstra
29 Pat McCabe         5-10  195  29  7  Syracuse Univ.
33 Mark Millon         5-8  175  27  5  U. of Massachusetts
34 Jim Mulé (G)       5-11  218  31  R  St. John’s
36 Greg Cattrano (G)  5-10  185  23  1  Brown University  
44 Steve Huff          6-0  205  31  5  UNC-Chapel Hill  
91 Jon Hess           5-10  165  22  R  Princeton Univ.

Chris Fritz      Owner
John Phillips    General Manager  
Scott Huff       Head Coach  
Norm Engelke     Assistant Coach  
Seth Tierney     Assistant Coach  
Jon Sartori      Trainer  
Joe Baccarella   Equipment Manager  

Age refers to age as of beginning of 1999 season (26 Dec 1998)

DATE         OPPONENT               NY-OPP   W/L  REC  POS
--------------------------------------------------------------
Sat Dec 26   @ Rochester     7:35   12-11     W   1-0  1st
  Jan  1- 3  -open date-                               t-1
  Jan  8-10  -open date-                               t-2
  Jan 15-17  -open date-                               t-2
Sat Jan 23   BALTIMORE       7:30   14-15     L   1-1  t-3
Sat Jan 30   BUFFALO         7:30   11-12     L   1-2  t-5
  Feb  5- 7  -open date-                               6th
Fri Feb 12   @ Baltimore     7:30   15-18     L   1-3  6th
  Feb 19-21  -open date-                               6th
Fri Feb 26   @ Toronto       7:00    9-13     L   1-4  6th
Sun Feb 28   SYRACUSE        1:30   13- 8     W   2-4  t-5
Sat Mar  6   @ Buffalo       8:00   13-12     W   3-4  5th
Sat Mar 13   ROCHESTER       7:30   15-20     L   3-5  6th
  Mar 19-21  -open date-                               6th
Fri Mar 26   PHILADELPHIA    7:30   14-13     W   4-5  t-4
Sat Mar 27   @ Syracuse      8:00   15-14     W   5-5  4th
Sat Apr  3   @ Philadelphia  7:30    9-10     L   5-6  t-4
Fri Apr  9   TORONTO         7:30    9-10     L   5-7  t-4 (1)
--------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Eliminated from playoff contention (10 April)

Saints record breakdown:
  vs BAL       0-2        Friday      1-3
  vs BUF       1-1        Saturday    3-4
  vs PHI       1-1        Sunday      1-0
  vs ROC       1-1        Other days  0-0
  vs SYR       2-0        After win   2-3
  vs TOR       0-2        After loss  2-4
  home         2-4        December    1-0
  road         3-3        January     0-2
  overtime     0-0        February    1-2
  1 goal       4-4        March       3-1
  2 goals      4-4        April       0-2
  after bye    1-3
  second game* 2-0

* Second game of a multiple-game weekend.

New York Saints
1255 Hempstead Turnpike
Uniondale, NY 11553
516.567.9114

Tickets to see the New York Saints at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum can be purchased through the team at the phone number above. Box office hours are 10:30 AM to 5:45 PM every day of the week. Tickets can be charged to your Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or Diner's Club card, or with good old-fashioned cash.

The Saints operate a will call window, which opens one hour prior to the start of the game. Will call tickets must be bought with a credit card, and you'll need that credit card, as well as two forms of identification (including one photo ID), when you pick the tickets up.

Public transportation is available in the area. Westbury and Hempstead Long Island Railroad stations are closest to the arena, and bus service is offered in the area. Parking is also available at the arena, but costs $5.00 per car.

Directions: Take the Long Island Expressway or the Northern State Parkway to the Meadowbrook Parkway South. Follow the Meadowbrook Parkway to Exit M4. Alternatively, you can use the Southern State Parkway to the Meadowbrook Parkway North to Exit M4.

Most of all, enjoy the game!