Bayhawks Snap Losing Streak in Explosive Fashion With Convincing Victory Over Cannons
Published on August 6, 2004 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Chesapeake Bayhawks News Release
Boston, Mass. â Attackman Tom Marechek scored five goals and tied a career high with seven points as the Baltimore Bayhawks (6-5) snapped a two-game losing streak in convincing fashion with a 25-14 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) victory over the league-leading Boston Cannons (8-3) in front of 5,649 at Nickerson Field at Boston University on Thursday evening.
In winning their sixth straight game away from Johnny Unitas ® Stadium at Towson University, the Bayhawks set a team record with 25 points in the game. The previous record was set during Baltimore's season opener against Rochester in a 24-18 win on May 22, 2004. The perfect 6-0 road record is the first time in MLL history that a team has finished with an unblemished mark away from home.
Midfielder Gary Gait gave the Bayhawks a quick 1-0 lead just 52 seconds into the opening stanza before the Cannons countered with a 3-0 run in the next four minutes to gain a two-goal advantage. Midfielder David Evans tallied two of the Cannons' three goals during the spurt.
Baltimore regained the lead with a 3-0 run of its own as Marechek teamed up with fellow attackmen Mark Millon and Dan Marohl during the rally. Following Michael Watson's second goal of the quarter, Baltimore added three more consecutive goals, including a power-play two-point tally from midfielder Jeff Sonke, to take an 8-4 cushion after the opening 15 minutes. The leading two-point goal scoring team in Major League Lacrosse, Baltimore has scored 17 two-point goals in 11 games so far this season.
Midfielder Brian Langtry added the first of his four goals in the game to start the second quarter before Boston ended the momentum with a goal from midfielder Chris Rotelli with 6:43 left in the period. However, Baltimore added another 3-0 rally on goals from Langtry, Marechek and midfielder Paul Cantabene to extend its advantage to 12-5 with 2:30 left in the first half. Boston cut its deficit to 12-7 with a two-point tally from midfielder Mike Regan in the final minute of the second quarter.
Gait scored his second goal of the game to start the third quarter before the Cannons began to chip away at the deficit with three straight goals, including a pair from Evans. Langtry ended the Boston rally with his 12th goal of the season off a feed from rookie midfielder Kevin Boland with 2:53 left in the third quarter. Boland recorded a career-high four assists in the victory, which tied the team record.
Rotelli teamed up with midfielder Chris Fiore to start the fourth quarter scoring with back-to-back goals for the Cannons, narrowing the Baltimore lead to 14-12, but Baltimore put the game out of reach with five unanswered goals, including a pair from Marechek, over a span of nearly three minutes. Following Watson's third goal of the game, Baltimore added two goals from Marechek and Gait.
Watson scored his fourth and final goal with 2:51 left in regulation, a power-play goal off a Mike Battista assist. However, the Bayhawks scored four more times in the final two minutes to set the team scoring record and wrap up their fourth 20-plus point performance of the season.
Holding a 36-23 advantage in ground balls, Baltimore won 25-of-41 face-offs in the victory and received 21 ground balls from Cantabene. He extended his MLL-record for ground balls in a season to 133 in just 10 games and closed the gap for breaking the record for face-off wins in a single season. He has now won 222 of 342 draws this season and is just three face-off victories away from tying the record held by Chris Cercy.
Gait and Millon extended their streaks of consecutive games with at least one goal to 27 and 23, respectively. Gait has now tied the team record for consecutive games with a goal, which was set by Marechek during the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
Despite being held without a goal, attackman Conor Gill tied his own Major League Lacrosse record by tallying his 40th assist of the season with a four-assist performance against the Bayhawks. Watson, who had scored 21 goals in his previous four games, led the Cannons with four goals and an assist.
Goalkeeper Rob Scherr earned his third win of the season by making a career-high 24 saves for the Bayhawks, while Boston's Kevin O'Brien made 14 saves in a losing effort for the Cannons, who had won three straight in their series with Baltimore prior to Thursday's setback. Baltimore still leads the all-time regular season series by a 6-3 margin.
The Bayhawks finish the regular season next Saturday evening, hosting the New Jersey Pride (1-9) at Unitas Stadium with opening face-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m., while Boston travels to Philadelphia to face the Barrage, who are still in the hunt for a play-off berth with a 5-5 record.
Baltimore Bayhawks (6-5) 8-4-2-11=25 / Boston Cannons (8-3) 4-3-3-4=14 ONE-POINT GOALS: BAL â Tom Marechek 5, Gary Gait 5, Mark Millon 4, Brian Langtry 4, Dan Marohl 2, Sean Radebaugh 2, Paul Cantabene 1; BOS â Michael Watson 4, David Evans 4, Chris Rotelli 2, Mike Battista 1, Chris Fiore 1. TWO-POINT GOALS: BAL â Jeff Sonke 1; BOS â Mike Regan 1. ASSISTS: BAL â Kevin Boland 4, Dan Marohl 3, Tom Marechek 2, Jude Collins 1, Mark Millon 1; BOS â Conor Gill 4, Mike Battista 1, Chris Fiore 1, Michael Watson 1. SAVES: BAL â Rob Scherr 24 (60:00, 13 goals allowed); BOS â Kevin O'Brien 14 (60:00, 24 goals allowed). SHOTS: BAL 55, BOS 59. GROUND BALLS: BAL 36, BOS 23. FACE-OFFS: BAL 25-16 (Paul Cantabene 25-16), BOS 16-25 (Kevin Frew 15-14, Tim Byrnes 1-4, Chris Rotelli 0-3, Brian Silcott 0-4). PENALTIES: BAL 12 for 10:00, BOS 5 for 4:30. POWER PLAY: BOS 3-11, BAL 2-4. CLEARS: BAL 18-3, BOS 19-3. TURNOVERS: BAL 25, BOS 16. ATTENDANCE: 5,649.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from August 6, 2004
- Philadelphia Barrage Vs. Long Island Lizards - Philadelphia Barrage
- Bayhawks Snap Losing Streak in Explosive Fashion With Convincing Victory Over Cannons - Chesapeake Bayhawks
- Rochester Rattlers at New Jersey Pride - Dallas Rattlers
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