In his fourth season with the Rochester Knighthawks, Irondequoit native Joe Walters has been a consistent pro, but not a super star.
That might be changing now as Walters came through with a big playoff performance that helped the Knighthawks win their third National Lacrosse League championship on Saturday night at the Blue Cross Arena before a crowd of 9,227.
Walters entered the final match of the season leading the K-hawks in playoff points with 10. The Irondequoit High and University of Maryland graduate picked up three assists in the come-from-behind 9-6 victory over the Edmonton Rush in the championship game.
However, Cody Jamieson’s eight-point effort (4g, 4a) upped his team total to 17 points (8g, 9a) as he was named the MVP of the playoffs. Walters finished second in team points in the playoffs with 13 (4g, 9a).
“Paul Gait (K-hawks VP of Lacrosse) said it before the game that with every game that I play, it’s getting better,” Walters said. “It’s all about confidence.
“I got my opportunity before the end of the season, and I just took it and tried to do what I can with it. A lot of it for Americans is that the more games you play, the better you get. You feel more comfortable, and that’s what it was.”
The Knighthawks last won the NLL championship in 2007. Walters joined the team in 2009, the same year that Curt Styres purchased the club.
“When Curt Styres took over, this is his goal, to win a championship,” Walters said. “I’m proud to be a part of this team, and I’m glad that all the moves that he made, all the things that he did with the team and the organization paid off.”
For the playoff game in Toronto last week, Styres purchased tickets about 300 tickets for the season ticket holders and bused them to the game - at his expense!
The Knighthawks responded with a victory, to snap a seven-game losing streak in Toronto, and ended up with the right to be host for the championship contest after Edmonton (6-10 regular season) upset Minnesota in the West Division final.
The K-hawks were 7-9 in the regular season. With the title game win, they ended the season at 10-9.
In his fourth season with the Rochester Knighthawks, Irondequoit native Joe Walters has been a consistent pro, but not a super star.
That might be changing now as Walters came through with a big playoff performance that helped the Knighthawks win their third National Lacrosse League championship on Saturday night at the Blue Cross Arena before a crowd of 9,227.
Walters entered the final match of the season leading the K-hawks in playoff points with 10. The Irondequoit High and University of Maryland graduate picked up three assists in the come-from-behind 9-6 victory over the Edmonton Rush in the championship game.
However, Cody Jamieson’s eight-point effort (4g, 4a) upped his team total to 17 points (8g, 9a) as he was named the MVP of the playoffs. Walters finished second in team points in the playoffs with 13 (4g, 9a).
“Paul Gait (K-hawks VP of Lacrosse) said it before the game that with every game that I play, it’s getting better,” Walters said. “It’s all about confidence.
“I got my opportunity before the end of the season, and I just took it and tried to do what I can with it. A lot of it for Americans is that the more games you play, the better you get. You feel more comfortable, and that’s what it was.”
The Knighthawks last won the NLL championship in 2007. Walters joined the team in 2009, the same year that Curt Styres purchased the club.
“When Curt Styres took over, this is his goal, to win a championship,” Walters said. “I’m proud to be a part of this team, and I’m glad that all the moves that he made, all the things that he did with the team and the organization paid off.”
For the playoff game in Toronto last week, Styres purchased tickets about 300 tickets for the season ticket holders and bused them to the game - at his expense!
The Knighthawks responded with a victory, to snap a seven-game losing streak in Toronto, and ended up with the right to be host for the championship contest after Edmonton (6-10 regular season) upset Minnesota in the West Division final.
The K-hawks were 7-9 in the regular season. With the title game win, they ended the season at 10-9.
