Cannons Defeat Charlotte Hounds, 16-8
June 16, 2012 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Boston Cannons News Release
CHARLOTTE, NC - Cannons goalie Jordan Burke made 16 saves and was named Bud Light Player of the Game as the Cannons improved to 5-2 with a 16-8 win over the Hounds (1-6) tonight in Charlotte. Chris Eck won 18 of 24 face-offs and Matt Poskay scored five goals as the Cannons dominated the second half to bounce back after two losses.
"A lot of our success tonight came from winning face-offs and playing tough defense," said Cannons head coach Steve Duffy. "We stressed possession of the ball in our game plan and Chris Eck allowed us to do that. And we have a lot of confidence in our defense and certainly in our goalie."
Charlotte's Billy Bitter opened the scoring to give the Hounds an early 1-0 lead, but Kevin Buchanan answered with two in a row, first on a pass from Ryan Boyle and then with his foot on the two-point line to give the Cannons a 2-1 lead after the first 15 minutes.
Charlotte struck first again in the second quarter on a goal from Jeremy Boltus, but rookie Owen "Kit" Smith answer with a bounce shot past Adam Ghitelman. Hounds long-pole Ricky Pages buried a rebound to knot the score at 3-3, but Boyle and Eck each scored unassisted to take a 5-3 lead into the break.
The Cannons came out firing with Poskay completing a hat trick on three consecutive goals in the first two and a half minutes of the second half, followed by a goal from first-time MLL All-Star Mike Stone. Boltus scored in the final seconds of the third quarter, but the Cannons barely noticed as Pat Heim scored his first goal of the season, Bill McGlone beat Ghitelman in the top right corner, Poskay added two more and Paul Rabil made his only goal of the night count for two. Stephen Berger and Matt Danowski each added a two-pointer for the Hounds, but it was too little, too late as the Cannons snapped a two-game losing streak.
"Losing two in a row, this team needed to come out and play hard," said Burke. "Getting the win was huge for us to get to five and two before we play the Bayhawks next week."
Poskay's five goals tied his season high, which he set in the Cannons' first match-up with the Hounds at Harvard Stadium on May 5th.
The Cannons travel to Annapolis to face the first-place Chesapeake Bayhawks (6-1) for the first time this season next Saturday, June 23, at 7pm.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from June 16, 2012
- Cannons Defeat Charlotte Hounds, 16-8 - Boston Cannons
- Glading's Five Points Spark Chesapeake in 16-15 - Chesapeake Bayhawks
- Cannons Hand Hounds Fourth Straight Loss - Charlotte Hounds
- Nationals Nearly Pull off the Impossible - Hamilton Nationals
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