Washington to host Toronto in NLL Champion's Cup

Seattle, WA -- The Cinderella story ended for Edmonton Rush Saturday night as Paul Rabil's overtime winner just eight-seconds into the extra frame gave the Washington Stealth a 12-11 victory in the West Division final at the Key Arena in Seattle, Wash.

With the win, Washington advanced to the National Lacrosse League final and hosts the Toronto Rock in the Champion's Cup May 15 at Comcast Arena in Everett, Wash. Toronto defeated the Orlando Titans 15-10 in the East final Saturday.

The Rush, who overcame a 6-1 deficit midway through the second quarter, fired two extra attacker goals in the final minute of the game to tie the score and force overtime, only to lose to the top-ranked Stealth in the single-game elimination matchup.

"It's heartbreaking for the guys, because they worked so hard," said Rush head coach/GM Derek Keenan. "Tonight was sort of the way our whole season was as we didn't give up and we battled right to the end."

Edmonton never led the game, but Andy Secore tied the contest with only 20 seconds remaining to force the extra period.

"We were 6-1 down and a lot of teams would've mailed it in but we just kept chipping away and fighting back and got it to where we wanted to," Keenan added on his club's valiant effort. "We just didn't get an opportunity in overtime to win it.

"I'm so proud of our guys, but that's the way it goes sometimes. It was a real athletic play by Rabil to win the game for them."

Edmonton went 2-1 against the division-leading Stealth in the regular season, including a 14-13 overtime win at Rexall Place April 2 and another 14-13 win April 17. Washington defeated Edmonton 15-7 in Everett in the Rush's regular-season opener Jan. 15.

The Rush played in their second playoff game in franchise history Saturday after they knocked off the defending champion Calgary Roughnecks 11-7 last week in a West semifinal.

Ryan Ward (2G, 4A) led all scorers with a six-point effort Saturday against Washington and Gavin Prout (2G, 3A) supplied five points, while Dean Hill (2G, 1A), Secore (1G, 3A), Ryan Powell (1G, 3A), Corey Small (1G, 1A), Brodie Merrill (1G, 15 loose balls) and Scott Stewart also scored for Edmonton.

Jeff Zywicki (3G, 2A) had a five-point night for the Stealth and Rabil (3G, 1A) paced Washington's attack.

Rush goaltender Matt Disher made 44 saves for the Rush in the loss and Tyler Richards earned the win in net for Washington.

Rabil opened the scoring for Washington 3:40 into the first quarter before Hill answered back for Edmonton less than three minutes later on the power-play to tie the score 1-1.

The Stealth then went on a three goal run, including two power-play markers, to go up 4-1 in the first frame.

Washington continued to score in the second quarter as Cam Sedgwick tallied 41-seconds in and Rabil fired his second of the night to improve the Stealth lead to 6-1, before Prout cut into the difference with his quick right-handed snipe with 6:39 remaining in the second stanza.

The Rush continued their run as Ward's long-range shot found the mark at 11:42 and then Prout notched his second goal and fourth point of the night, at 13:14 with the man advantage, as Edmonton pulled within two goals at 6-4, before Washington closed the scoring in the half to lead 7-4 after two quarters of play.

Powell's trademark hard drive to the net proved fruitful for Edmonton 2:20 into the third quarter and then Stewart made it a one-goal game with a snipe off a speedy transition at 5:26 as Edmonton made the score 7-6 after reeling off five of six goals.

The Stealth then went on a two goal run during a 74-second span to move ahead 9-6 and that ended the scoring in the frame.

Ward quickly pulled the Rush within two goals in the fourth quarter with his second of the night just 26-seconds in, before Washington regained their three-goal lead less than two-minutes later and then Hill notched his second marker at 4:18 to make the score 10-8 in Washington's favor.

The Stealth then made it 11-8 before Merrill's brilliant diving effort at 11:21 brought the Rush back within two goals and then Small made it a one-goal game with his crease dunk with 56-ticks left on the clock and the score 11-10.

With an extra attacker still out, Secore then tied the game 11-11 with 20 seconds left in regulation.

Rabil then stunned the Rush in overtime as he scooped up a loose ball off the faceoff and ran down the carpet with speed and beat Disher up high only eight-seconds into the extra frame to put Washington into the title game.

Rush mush:The Rush carried a five-game road winning mark into the game ... EDM is now 3-11 all-time record versus WASH/San Jose ... Edmonton had a 5-3 record at home and 6-4 on the road this year ... Chris McElroy, Ryan McNish, Dane Stevens, Scott Tinning and John Lintz did not dress.

Story by Bruce Rakoczy