With a brick-wall defense by goalie Matt Roik and explosive scoring by Rhys Duch, Jeff Zywicki, and several others, the Washington Stealth fought off a tough-to-beat Minnesota Swarm on Friday evening for a 12–9 win. The Stealth remain the only undefeated team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) at 6–0.

Roik’s 39 saves plus Duch’s and Zywicki’s hat tricks gave the crowd of 3,600+ at Comcast Arena something the cheer about.

“This is the biggest crowd we’ve had since opening,” commented the Stealth’s in-house announcer Teddy Jenner.

After the game, Stealth forwards Rhys Duch and Cam Sedgwick put on dress clothes and signed autographs for fans at a table on the concourse. Hundreds of fans lined up to meet them, carrying Stealth t-shirts, jerseys and posters to sign. One tween-age girl was pretty excited to have Duch sign her cell phone. “I’m not washing this EVER,” she exclaimed.

“The fans are amazing. Look at the line. They love us and we love them for being here,” commented Duch.

“The fans here are a bit crazy here. They’re loud. They filled up half this barn, but with the noise, it feels like it is full,” commented Sedgwick.

David and Heather McLaughlin are Minnesota Swarm fans who flew from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Portland and drove to Everett for the first time to cheer on their team. And they brought their cowbells to make some noise. Gathered at the post-game party at the Ice Box Bar at Comcast Arena, the McLaughlin’s comments were similar to Sedgwick’s.

“With the crowd, it sounded more than 3,500,” commented David. “I was impressed with the venue…extremely friendly fans,” he added.

“It was a close game and a lot of fun. We had the Stealth fans scared when it was tied up,” commented Heather.

Swarm fans love their cowbells just like the Stealth and Tips fans. The McLaughlin’s of Minnesota explained that the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN had a very lame rule some time ago that didn’t allow noise makers into the arena, until the Minnesota Swam fans petitioned the Xcel Energy Center management to let the fans bring their cowbells and make some noise.

What do you think of that Everett sports fans? Can you even imagine…a lacrosse game or hockey game…without cowbells?

The Stealth will see the Swarm again next week on Saturday February 13, when they travel to St. Paul. The game can be seen on the NLL Network at NLL.com.

The next Stealth home game is on Friday February 19 vs. the NLL’s defending champions, the Calgary Roughnecks. If the barn was only half full for Friday night’s game, then let’s pack the house on for the Calgary game and really make some noise. Bring your cowbell Everett sports fans! There are great seats available on the glass. Tickets for the game are available by calling 877-MY-75-TIX or at www.stealthlax.com.