Fiorito's 22 saves not enough for Bayhawks in 14-11 loss to Boston
Published on June 29, 2015 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Chesapeake Bayhawks News Release
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. - Goalkeeper Tyler Fiorito put forth another superb performance with 22 saves, but it wasn't enough as the Chesapeake Bayhawks fell to the Boston Cannons, 14-11, in a battle between teams tied for third place in Major League Lacrosse.
Fiorito was named Warrior Defensive Player of the Week after stopping 23 shots in last Saturday's victory over Ohio and matched that figure on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Boston put 36 of its 58 shots on cage and Fiorito did everything possible to keep Chesapeake close, making 18 of his saves in the second and third quarters.
"Our goalie really made some great saves and held them to two goals for more than 20 minutes in the first half," Chesapeake head coach Dave Cottle said. "Tyler didn't stop anything early, but he made a bunch of saves at 4-0 that helped us big-time."
Attackman Drew Westervelt amassed five points with three goals and two assists for Chesapeake (5-5), which had a two-game winning streak snapped. Midfielder Joe Walters totaled two goals and two assists for the Bayhawks, who could not overcome a lengthy drought in the fourth quarter.
"I think we let the scoreboard determine how we played offensively. When we fell behind by four in the fourth quarter, we became a little impatient," Cottle said. "I don't think we shot the ball very smartly at times in the game. We had a little stubbornness about our shooting today."
Ben Rubeor scored two goals and assisted another while fellow attackman Matt Danowski contributed a goal and two assists for Chesapeake, which fought back to tie the score after trailing by four goals in the first quarter and three goals in the third period. Midfielder Kevin Crowley added a goal and an assist for the Bayhawks, who were beaten 19-8 on faceoffs and 52-27 on ground balls.
"We didn't win a lot of faceoffs outright and we didn't do a good job of getting the ball off the ground whenever it became a scramble," Cottle said.
Chesapeake got off to a difficult start as some poor decisions on offense led to several fastbreak opportunities for Boston. Long stick midfielder Scott Ratliff scored two transition goals as the Cannons raced to an early 4-0 lead.
"Boston really jumped on us early because we didn't execute the game-plan very well," Cottle said. "We wanted to possess the ball and make them play defense and we did not want to give up transition goals. When they went on runs it was because we turned the ball over on the offensive end and they went the other way with numbers."
The Bayhawks dominated the remainder of the first half with Walters turning the tide toward the visitors, who scored three unanswered goals to close the first quarter.
Crowley fought through a double-team and fed a wide open Walters for an overhand crank shot that put Chesapeake on the board. Moments later, Walters found midfielder Matt Abbott cutting to the crease for a quick-stick score. Walters added another assist, finding Westervelt circling around just inside the 2-point arc for a sidearm crank shot that made it 4-3 at the end of one period.
The Bayhawks opened the second stanza with consecutive goals to make it a 5-0 run and take their first lead of the game. Walters had time and room to unleash a sidearm crank shot from just inside the 2-point arc and defensive midfielder Mark McNeill scored just 10 seconds later, scooping a ground ball off the faceoff and racing into the offensive end to blast a jump shot into the top corner.
Chesapeake scored consecutive goals to start the third quarter as well, turning a 6-5 halftime deficit into its second lead of the game. Crowley powered his way past a short stick defender to get inside and score from about 5 yards out and just over a minute later Westervelt found Rubeor cutting to the crease for a point-blank shot that put the Bayhawks ahead, 6-5.
A 2-point goal by rookie midfielder John Glesener highlighted a 4-0 run that gave Boston a 10-7 lead, but Chesapeake battled back once again. Westervelt corralled a rebound and alertly fed cross-crease to Rubeor for a one-on-one attempt. Attackman Matt Danowski then made an incredible individual move, diving from behind the cage and making a miraculous backflip shot that zipped right past the ear of Boston goalie Jordan Burke (18 saves).
Westervelt then tied the game for the third time, taking a pass from Rubeor and blasting a sidearm crank shot into the top corner to make it 10-10 just 1:21 into the fourth quarter. However, Boston responded with four goals in the span of two minutes to take a 14-10 lead and this time Chesapeake could not come back.
Chesapeake returns home for the first time in nearly a month on Thursday, July 2 (7:30 p.m.) against the first-place New York Lizards (8-2). The Bayhawks will be holding a Military and First Responders Appreciation Night with great game day events followed by a huge firework show to kick off the holiday weekend.
"It would have been nice to get this one on the road, but we're still right in the thick of things and we're going to start getting some injured guys back," Cottle said.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from June 29, 2015
- Fiorito's 22 saves not enough for Bayhawks in 14-11 loss to Boston - Chesapeake Bayhawks
- Outlaws to Host Fireworks Night on Saturday - Denver Outlaws
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
