The Washington Power overcame both its own poor play and a five-goal, fourth-quarter deficit Sunday to steal a 13-12 victory from the visiting Toronto Rock before a sparse crowd at MCI Center.

For three quarters, it seemed like nothing could go right for the Power. The team was fifteen minutes away from losing for the second game this weekend, with a combined attendance over the two games being less then any one single game so far this season. Toronto led 10-5 going to the final quarter, and the Power showed few signs of life.

Then, the unexpected occured -- Washington had a Power surge, as the hosts put on a great fourth-quarter comeback for the 1,778 fans in attendance. Washington head coach Darris Kilgour implored his team to crawl out of the hole they dug for themselves, and they responded with eight goals in final frame.

"Toronto’s been pushing this team around for four years now," said Kilgour, "and our guys decided that they weren’t going to take it anymore. They decided that they were going to stand up, and they were going to beat them no matter what."

Paul Gait led the comeback with four goals and one assist, while his brother Gary took was unusually quiet, with only one goal (he did have six assists, however). Matt Green added two goals and one assists, and Matt Shearer tallied one goal and three assists. Shearer's lone goal proved critical -- it tied the contest at twelve with just nineteen seconds left. Everyone in the arena was expecting overtime, except for Paul Gait, who, after arguing with Kilgour about whether to try for the win or wait for the fifth period, scored the game winner with five seconds remaining.

Toronto's Kim Squire was ineffective, scoring only one goal before being ejected for his part in a third-quarter fight. Kaleb Toth led the Rock with three goals, and Chris Gill added two goals and four assists. Bob Watson played well in the Toronto net, recording 28 saves.

Toronto now heads to Ottawa, for the second meeting of the season between the two clubs and the first-ever NLL game at Corel Centre. A crowd of 10,000-plus is expected to see the final all-Canada matchup of the year. Washington will host the Rochester Knighthawks next Sunday, in its third straight game against a 2000 playoff team, before playing Columbus twice around a home match with Ottawa.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
Toronto Rock (1-1)                    2  4  4  2  --  12
Washington Power (1-1)                2  3  2  6  --  13

TORONTO ROCK                  WASHINGTON POWER
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
Gill           2 - 4     6    G Gait         1 - 6     7
Veltman        1 - 3     4    P Gait         4 - 1     5
Toth           3 - 0     3    Shearer        1 - 3     4
Doyle          1 - 2     3    Green          2 - 1     3
Stroup         0 - 3     3    Cantabene      2 - 0     2
Toll           2 - 0     2    Hiltz          1 - 1     2
Millin         1 - 1     2    Hubbard        1 - 1     2
O'Connor       0 - 2     2    Sims           1 - 1     2
G Clark        1 - 0     1    McCavera       0 - 2     2
K Squire       1 - 0     1    Reese          0 - 2     2
Coyle          0 - 1     1    Shek           0 - 2     2
Watson         0 - 1     1    Doddridge      0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           64    Shots on goal           56
Saves made by           43    Saves made by           52
   Watson                        Dalep
Penalties               12    Penalties               13
Penalty Minutes         38    Penalty Minutes         43
Loose Balls             42    Loose Balls             37
Faceoffs Won            16    Faceoffs Won            11

*** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH ALL LACROSSE AMERICA ***