The New Westminster Salmonbellies are now in a must-win scenario.
The senior "A" men's squad, after handing Victoria its first loss of 2024 — regular season or playoffs — on Friday, Aug. 9, is now down 1-2 in the best-of-five first-round Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) playoff series.
The Bellies fell 8-4 to the Shamrocks Sunday, Aug. 11, on Vancouver Island.
The red, blue and white return home for game four tomorrow night, Aug. 13, hoping the Queen's Park Arena crowd can rally them to victory.
Should they accomplish the mission, a fifth game will decide the series winner on Thursday, Aug. 15.
New West surprised the WLA last week when they claimed a 10-9 overtime win against the undefeated Shamrocks.
Photos: New West Salmonbellies defeat Victoria Shamrocks in overtime https://t.co/2QcWsv12rm
— The Record (@TheRecord) August 10, 2024
The defending WLA champions were led by five goal-scorer Kevin Crowley and backed by netminder Justin Geddie, who stopped 40 of 49 shots.
On Sunday, the Bellies had two leads in the game three contest: 1-0 less than three minutes in and 3-2 in the final minutes of the second period.
Victoria potted five unanswered goals in the late stages of the second and through the third frame, including two on power-plays.
Forward Will Malcom, the 2024 WLA all-star first team scoring leader and 3 Star award winner, scored with 4:04 left in regulation in hopes of starting a comeback, but the Shamrocks sealed the double-down win with 31 seconds left.
Victoria sent 56 shots to the New West cage, while the Bellies retaliated with 54 of their own.
New West now needs two consecutive wins to reach the WLA Finals for a second straight season. Game Four is set for Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. at Queen's Park Arena.
