Dickies arena in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas will hold a special place in a two former RMLL players hearts forever. Sunday in a game between Panther City Lacrosse Club and the Calgary Roughnecks checked off a number of firsts for some Prairie boys playing in the NLL. .Harrison Matsuoka, born and raised in Calgary, now a member of the Roughnecks got his first NLL goal in Sunday’s game and it came in typical Matsuoka fashion — an intercepted pass in the defensive zone for a breakaway goal. Anyone who had played against or with Matsuoka during his time with the Okotoks Raiders must have seen that exact same play close to 100 times..Matsuoka had this to say about his first NLL goal: “You dream of that moment since you are a little kid, and being able to do it to help your team win a close match makes it all so much better.” .Calgary’s hometown product potted the Roughneck’s 12th goal of the game and the Riggers went on to win this one by a final score of 13-12. .Looking down the floor to the other bench, another Alberta boy was checking the boxes on a couple firsts, as well. Dean Fairall suited up for his first NLL game and managed to get his first pro goal as well in his debut. Fairall finished the game with a goal and a pair of assists to round out a stellar first performance.The former Edmonton resident has been working to crack into the league for the better part of the last decade. It’s not every day you see a 27-year-old make their professional debut, but on Sunday that was the case for Fairall. All the years of hard work and heartbreak were worth it for the St. Albert Miners alumni who received the call to Panther City after spending the last 3 months playing in the Arena Lacrosse League in hopes of getting another shot at the NLL. . Two separate Alberta boys with two very different paths to get where they are now, both scoring their first NLL goals in the same game. It was a special day for the RMLL, and any player playing in Alberta with dreams of making it to the league and having success. .Jake Foster is a Calgary born athlete and journalist with a passion for sports and story telling
Dickies arena in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas will hold a special place in a two former RMLL players hearts forever. Sunday in a game between Panther City Lacrosse Club and the Calgary Roughnecks checked off a number of firsts for some Prairie boys playing in the NLL. .Harrison Matsuoka, born and raised in Calgary, now a member of the Roughnecks got his first NLL goal in Sunday’s game and it came in typical Matsuoka fashion — an intercepted pass in the defensive zone for a breakaway goal. Anyone who had played against or with Matsuoka during his time with the Okotoks Raiders must have seen that exact same play close to 100 times..Matsuoka had this to say about his first NLL goal: “You dream of that moment since you are a little kid, and being able to do it to help your team win a close match makes it all so much better.” .Calgary’s hometown product potted the Roughneck’s 12th goal of the game and the Riggers went on to win this one by a final score of 13-12. .Looking down the floor to the other bench, another Alberta boy was checking the boxes on a couple firsts, as well. Dean Fairall suited up for his first NLL game and managed to get his first pro goal as well in his debut. Fairall finished the game with a goal and a pair of assists to round out a stellar first performance.The former Edmonton resident has been working to crack into the league for the better part of the last decade. It’s not every day you see a 27-year-old make their professional debut, but on Sunday that was the case for Fairall. All the years of hard work and heartbreak were worth it for the St. Albert Miners alumni who received the call to Panther City after spending the last 3 months playing in the Arena Lacrosse League in hopes of getting another shot at the NLL. . Two separate Alberta boys with two very different paths to get where they are now, both scoring their first NLL goals in the same game. It was a special day for the RMLL, and any player playing in Alberta with dreams of making it to the league and having success. .Jake Foster is a Calgary born athlete and journalist with a passion for sports and story telling
