Chesapeake Opens in Annapolis for Hometown Hero Appreciation Night, Falling to Atlanta 19-10
Published on June 29, 2019 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Chesapeake Bayhawks News Release
ANNAPOLIS, MD - The Bayhawks opened their home season at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in front of 7,128 fans for Hometown Hero & First Responder Appreciation Night. The celebration was complete with the third annual pre-game Hometown Heroes Classic where members of the Anne Arundel County (AACO) police force scrimmaged members from the AACO Fire department. Also featured was an Honor Guard who presented our colors followed by a sky diver flying the American flag who landed midfield pre-game.
In the game, an early injury to faceoff specialist Kenny Massa turned the tide of the game as the Chesapeake Bayhawks dropped their home opener.
Massa suffered an injury after absorbing an illegal hit to the head by Atlanta defenseman David Manning early in the first quarter. Massa was the only faceoff specialist dressed for Chesapeake for this game and hurt the 'Hawks in the possession battle.
Long stick midfielder CJ Costabile had to handle the draws the rest of the way and Atlanta faceoff specialist Alex Woodall, who was an All-American this past season at Towson University, wound up winning 18 of 31 to help his team control the ball en route to a 19-10 victory.
"Having our faceoff man get hurt at the beginning of the game didn't help," Chesapeake Head Coach Dave Cottle said. "We played a lot of defense and I thought they wore us down."
Superstar attackman Lyle Thompson scored four goals and dished off two assists for Chesapeake. Colin Heacock totaled two goals and an assist while fellow attackman Steele Stanwick added a goal and two assists for the Bayhawks.
"We'd move the ball and get a great opportunity and either hit a pipe or have the goalie make a save. They'd move the ball quickly from front to back-side and get an easy goal," Cottle said. "They shot and scored, we shot and missed. We were just a pass away, a shot away, a ground ball away tonight."
Starting goalie Niko Amato had as many saves (16) as goals allowed before giving way to backup Brian Phipps in the fourth quarter. Cottle pointed to one statistic that was a difference-maker: Atlanta gobbled up 51 ground balls while Chesapeake corralled 31.
Chesapeake jumped out to an early 3-1 lead with Thompson and Stanwick contributing a goal and assist apiece. Thompson fed inside to Stanwick for a turnaround jump shot that made it 1-0 with just over two minutes elapsed. Stanwick later returned the favor by feeding to Thompson out front for a point-blank shot.
The Blaze rallied to tie the score at three before Matt Abbott put the Bayhawks back ahead with a tremendous individual move while operating a man down. Abbott drove from behind then beat an attempted double-team with a nifty spin move and scored while diving into the crease to make it 4-3 after one period.
Atlanta went on a 7-0 run to start the second quarter and took a 10-4 lead with 7:53 remaining. Chesapeake finally put an end to the run 52 seconds later when Thompson found a cutting Heacock for an 8-yard shot that snapped a nearly 10-minute drought and cut the deficit to five.
"They won every faceoff and we gave up transition goals," Cottle said when asked what happened during the 7-0 run.
Chesapeake wound up allowing a total of nine transition goals in the game and Cottle said that is one of many areas the team needs to address. The Bayhawks played just two games during the first month of the season and had very limited practice time as well.
"When we do get a chance to practice, we need to find a way to replicate all of what we need to work on," said Cottle, adding that Chesapeake will look to add another faceoff specialist.
Neither team dented the net the rest of the way and Atlanta took a 10-5 lead into halftime.
Cole scored two goals from the doorstep to cap a 4-0 run to start the second half as the Blaze increased their lead to 14-5. The Bayhawks were shut out in the third quarter and went 26 minutes and 19 seconds without scoring.
Leading into the fourth quarter, Baltimore Orioles legend, "The Iron Man" Cal Ripken, Jr., joined owned Brendan Kelly on the field to crank the "Call of the Flock" siren to signal the beginning of the quarter.
Thompson finally broke the team's second lengthy drought with an unassisted goal at the 10:42 mark of the fourth quarter. Just 29 seconds later, Thompson struck again - beating his defender from behind the net and scoring off a no-look over-the-shoulder shot after getting to goal-line extended.
Midfielder Nick Mariano then scored off a lefty sidearm shot and suddenly Chesapeake had clawed back to within seven at 15-8 with 9:45 remaining. However, the Bayhawks could not continue the comeback.
Chesapeake would score two goals after this, one more from Lyle Thompson and another from first-year midfielder Colton Watkinson, but these proved to be futile as Atlanta scored four of their own in this span.
The Bayhawks look to regroup before their next game on the road versus Denver on July 4th at 9:00 PM EST. This game will be broadcast live on MyTV Baltimore. It will also be available to be streamed on Stadium and majorleaguelacrosse.com/watch.
Chesapeake will return to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for a re-match against the Blaze on July 6th at 7:00 PM EST. To purchase tickets, please visit thebayhawks.com/tickets or call the Chesapeake Bayhawks Ticket Office at 866-99-HAWKS. The ticket office can also be reached at sales@thebayhawks.com. Additionally, this game will be broadcast live on MyTV Baltimore.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from June 29, 2019
- Chesapeake Opens in Annapolis for Hometown Hero Appreciation Night, Falling to Atlanta 19-10 - Chesapeake Bayhawks
- Rattlers End Road Trip in Loss at New York - Dallas Rattlers
- Denver Outlaws Hand Boston Cannons First Loss of Season in 17-16 Thriller - Denver Outlaws
- Denver Outlaws to Face off against Unbeaten Boston Cannons on Saturday - Denver Outlaws
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