Hounds Come up Short at Home against Outlaws
July 23, 2016 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Charlotte Hounds News Release
Hounds Come up Short at Home against Outlaws
(Charlotte Hounds)
CHARLOTTE, NC - The Charlotte Hounds on Saturday night fell 12-11 to the visiting Denver Outlaws at American Legion Memorial Stadium. It was a back-and-forth game that featured nine different ties. Mike Bocklet was named Coca-Cola Player of the game following a five-point (4g, 1a) performance. Meanwhile, the Hounds were lead by Joey Sankey with three goals and an assist.
The Hounds opened the scoring, as rookie Brendan Caputo powered through the defense and drove to the cage to notch his first goal as a pro. Bailey Tills responded for the Outlaws, scoring on a feed from Matt Kavanagh right as the shot clock expired. The next six minutes went scoreless before Tim Barber ripped a low shot and the ball skipped over Charlie Cipriano's foot to give the Outlaws a 2-1 advantage. But the Hounds got the ball back with 13 seconds remaining in the quarter and Michael Ehrhardt scored the equalizer in transition.
Back-and-forth action continued at the start of the second. Bocklet scored once, Sankey countered, then Bocklet scored again to put the Outlaws in front 4-3. The Hounds then rattled off three straight, including back-to-back tallies from rookie Dylan Donahue, to build a 7-4 advantage with just under five minutes remaining in the half. But the Hounds committed a costly turnover two minutes later that saw Bocklet net his third of the night. Bocklet maintained momentum and found Kavanagh two minutes later to make it a one-goal game at the half.
The duo of Bocklet and Kavanagh stayed hot coming out of the break, with each notching an unassisted goal to put Denver up 8-7. The Hounds took another hit during that same time frame, as Ryan Flanagan left the game with an apparent knee injury. Sankey and Kevin Crowley rallied with back-to-back goals, but the Outlaws countered with another two of their own to regain the 10-9 lead with 7:41 remaining in the third. After six minutes of scoreless play, Sankey made a great individual effort to fire one more shot before the clock expired and tied the game at 10-10.
John Haus put Charlotte back in front three minutes into the final quarter, tallying the 100th point of his MLL career off a feed from Ryan Brown. Eric Law responded for the Outlaws on the next possession, leaving the game tied 11-11 with 10:25 to play. Cipriano then suffered a leg injury, forcing the Hounds to bring in backup goalie Pierce Bassett. He made a save on the first shot he saw, and added two more before Law beat him low to seal the 12-11 victory for Denver.
These two teams won't have to wait long before seeing each other again, as the Hounds travel to Denver next weekend for the rematch at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Faceoff is scheduled for 5:00pm ET on Saturday, July 30. The Hounds will then return home to American Legion Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 6, for the 2016 regular-season finale.
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