The New York Saints rode Game MVP Roy Colsey's five goal performance for their third victory of the season, winning 17-13 over the Columbus Landsharks on Friday, in front of approximately 3,000 fans at the Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus.

Colsey's offensive performance was matched by Gee Nash in the Saints' goal, who made 47 saves on 60 shots to help lead the Saints to victory.

After a slow start for both teams, Neal Powless and Spencer Martin opened the scoring nearly halfway through the first quarter to stake Columbus to a 2-0 lead. Kris Bryde finally got the Saints on the board over 8 minutes in, but Cory Kahoun answered quickly to regain Columbus' two-goal cushion. In what was a common theme for the game, the Saints then took over the game for the last three minutes of the quarter, and two goals by Colsey were sandwiched around a tally by Rusty Kruger to give the Saints a 4-3 lead at the end of one.

The Saints returned to the form they spent most of the game in, just doing enough to get by. Mark Steenhuis tied the game at four, then Bryde gave the Saints the lead back. Kasey Beirnes was answered by Jonas Derks and Colsey to give the Saints a 7-5 lead just six minutes into the second. Some good goaltending and some poor offense by both teams made up the remainder of the second quarter, but Steve Gloeckner and Gewas Schindler were both able to beat Nash in the final minutes to end the half with a 7-7 tie.

Jonas Derks scored just 51 seconds into the second half to reestablish a Saints lead, but it took Neal Powless only seven seconds to tie the game again. Finally, the Saints began to play like the team they have been expected to be, and ran off five consecutive goals to take a 13-8 lead. Prout and Brad Dairon scored within 40 seconds of each other early in the third, then Bryde, Derks, and Colsey completed the run with goals within 66 seconds midway through the quarter, which chased starting goalie Phil Weatherup from the net.

With the game now firmly in the Saints' control, Gavin Prout took a roughing penalty after an offensive turnover. That evidently not enough for the hot prospect, he then took a five-minute major for cross checking during the delayed penalty, ultimately setting up a seven-minute power play for the Landsharks, who took full advantage. Beirnes scored twice within 70 seconds to end the major penalty, and Neal Powless converted just over a minute later to close the gap to 13-11. Frye took another penalty for the Saints, and this time Steenhuis capitalized on that power play to complete the three-minute, four-goal run that got the Landsharks back in the game at 13-12.

That was as close as the Sharks would get, though, because right off the faceoff, Brian Spallina picked up the ball and beat Miron on the break. Bryde and Colsey each found the net in the final minute of the third, expanding the lead back to four, 16-12. Over the course of the period, the Saints scored nine times, more than in the other three quarters combined.

The fourth quarter was much slower than the hectic third quarter, with goals only from Beirnes and Dairon, the Saints' newest signee. Gee Nash shined for the Saints in the final stanza, making 15 saves on 16 shots to thwart any potential final Landshark rally.

The New York Saints remain in second place in the NLL's Eastern division with the win, improving to 3-2. They now wait until 12 January, when they take on their long-time rivals, the Philadelphia Wings, on Long Island in the first game of a home-and-home series. Columbus falls to 0-3, and remains in last place in the Central Division. They'll travel to Canada next Friday to take on cellar-dwelling Ottawa Rebel, the Northern Division's fourth-place team.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
New York Saints (3-2)                 4  3  9  1  --  17
Columbus Landsharks (0-3)             3  4  5  1  --  13

NEW YORK SAINTS               COLUMBUS LANDSHARKS
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
Colsey         5 - 2     7    Schindler      1 - 5     6
Prout          1 - 5     6    Beirnes        4 - 0     4
K Bryde        4 - 1     5    N Powless      3 - 1     4
Derks          3 - 0     3    Steenhuis      2 - 2     4
Dairon         2 - 1     3    Gloeckner      1 - 1     2
Frye           0 - 2     2    Kahoun         1 - 0     1
Kruger         1 - 0     1    S Martin       1 - 0     1
Spallina       1 - 0     1    Arbuckle       0 - 1     1
Nash           0 - 1     1    
Rosa           0 - 1     1    

Shots on goal           44    Shots on goal           59
Saves made by (GA)      46    Saves made by (GA)      27
   Nash (13)         46          Wetherup (14)     17
                                 Miron (3)         10
Penalties               12    Penalties                9
Penalty Minutes         31    Penalty Minutes         21
Power Play Chances       5    Power Play Chances      10
Power Play Goals         5    Power Play Goals         3
   K Bryde            2          Beirnes            1
   Derks              2          N Powless          1
   Colsey             1          Steenhuis          1
Shorthanded Goals        0    Shorthanded Goals        1
   (None)                        Steenhuis          1
Loose Balls             69    Loose Balls             71
   Spallina          11          Steenhuis         12
   Rosa               7          Schindler         11
   Ghedina            6          D Suddons          9
   Nash               6          Wetherup           9
Faceoffs Won            21    Faceoffs Won            13
   Ghedina      (21-12)          Warder       (12-20)
   Prout        ( 0- 1)          D Suddons    ( 1- 1)

*** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH COLUMBUS LANDSHARKS ***