After a massive victory over the Whipsnakes in Week 3, the Chrome carried their momentum into Friday night’s contest against the league-best Archers, coming out on the winning end of an 8-7 scoreline at Shuart Stadium on Long Island. 

The Chrome went into the game as the underdog, having the task of shutting down the hottest team in the league, and they managed to hold Chris Bates’ squad to the lowest goal total in the team’s history.

“I think that everyone is still figuring themselves out and that was the message to our unit before the Whipsnakes game. We’ve got to stop talking about our opponent and worrying about the guys on the other side,” Chrome goalie John Galloway said post game. “We really focused on the opportunity to prove ourselves and not talk too much about the talent over there. 

“We were aware of what they were capable of but there are really good lacrosse players in this league. We just have to focus on doing our job and we were fortunate to do just enough to find a way.”

Colin Heacock (4G) was the offensive leader for Chrome while Jackson Morrill (1G, 2A) and Tommy Palasek (2G) were also pivotal in the win.

Connor Farrell went 58 percent from the stripe on the night while John Galloway had another big night, turning away 13 shots.

Despite that, the story of the first half was the Chrome defense, as they were able to hold the highest-scoring offense in the league to just five first-half goals and seven total markers. 

Grant Ament was once again a facilitator for the Archers to open the game, posting three assists through the first two quarters. 

The Archers got goals from Tom Schreiber, Connor Fields, Latrell Harris, Ryan Ambler, and Will Manny through the first two quarters.

Heacock had a pair while Palasek, Justin Guterding, and Morrill answered back to keep the teams deadlocked heading into the locker rooms. 

The third quarter saw just three goals scored. Schreiber added the lone Archers tally while Heacock and Palasek added on for Chrome to give them a 7-6 advantage heading into the final stanza.

The defensive battle continued into the final minutes of the game, but Fields added his second of the contest on the man up, tying the game late. 

With under a minute left in the game, Chrome got a timeout to set up a play to push ahead. Heacock spun off Dominique Alexander and got a shot off that found its way past Drew Adams with 15 seconds left. That would hold up as the game winner. 

“Jackson, Justin, and Tommy Palasek were just playing great offense and getting us opportunities,” Heacock said. “But all the credit goes to the defensive guys. They gave us so many opportunities and they were outstanding the entire game. We couldn’t do it without them.”

With the victory, Chrome has turned an 0-2 start to the year into a .500 record. They can make it three straight victories on Sunday against a hungry Atlas side. 

The Archers, on the other hand, now need to salvage their weekend against the two-time defending champion Whipsnakes, who are also looking to get back in the win column after having their 672-day winning streak snapped in Baltimore.