Undefeated no more.

Redwoods hand the Whipsnakes their first loss of the season in Week 5 in Atlanta. This one took a bit to get going but was action packed and a close contest at the end. The low scoring first quarter was not shocking considering the two teams give up the least amount of goals in the league. Matt Rambo got the party started with his first of four goals. Redwoods countered with two tallies from Joe Walters and Sergio [Sauce]-ido to put Redwoods up 2-1.

Matt Kavanagh extended the lead in the second quarter with an acrobatic crease dive goal. The light then switched on for Whipsnakes. Joe Nardella won five in a row at the faceoff x and  Whipsnakes scored four points in 36 seconds to take a 5-3 lead. Contributions coming from Mike Chanenchuk and his league-leading fourth two-point goal, Rambo again, and Ty Warner.

Whipsnakes continued their run and stretched the lead to 7-3 off another goal from Chanenchuk and Ryan Drenner’s first of the day. Patrick Harbeson stopped the bleeding for Redwoods with a transition goal late in the second quarter. After a dominating first half performance from Joe Nardella (10-13 at the x) Whipsnakes only had a two goal lead (7-5) heading into the half.

Sergio Perkovic got things going for Redwoods to start the third quarter. The midfielder scored two lefty on the run shots to shrink the lead. After a clean save from Tim Troutner (17 saves), he passed to Brent Adams who sprinted down the field, drew the defense in transition and dumped it to Kavanagh who sneaked underneath to tie the game at eight.

Jules Heningburg (2G, 2A) assisted Salcido and gave Redwoods a 9-8 lead against his former team. Jay Carlson tied the game with his first goal of the season, starting with Kyle Bernlohr throwing an Aaron Rodgers 70-yard pass to Rambo after a save. Salcido repays the favor to Heningburg who buried one at the end of the third quarter to get to double digits and take the 10-9 lead.

The first goal of the fourth quarter came from Heningburg, who extend the Redwoods’ lead to two. Mr. Clutch, Ryan Drenner, scored another fourth quarter goal to cut the lead back to one. Rambo whipped in his fourth goal to tie the game at 11.

Redwoods score the last three goals of the game. The game-winner came from none other than Kyle Harrison. He scored his first goal of the season in iconic Kyle Harrison fashion. A split down the alley to his patented jump shot gave Redwoods the 12-11 lead. Adams put the nail in the coffin with 30 seconds left after an assist from Kavanagh to secure the 14-11 win (3G, 3A).

Whipsnakes lose their top spot in the standings after five weeks. They take on Atlas in Washington D.C. next weekend. Redwoods have to be feeling good riding a two-game win streak. They will look to extend that streak against the ailing Archers on July 6th at Audi Field.