Hounds Remain Unbeaten with 12-10 Victory over Launch
May 14, 2016 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Charlotte Hounds News Release
CHARLOTTE, NC - The Charlotte Hounds on Saturday night beat the visiting Florida Launch 12-10 at American Legion Memorial Stadium to improve to 3-0 on the season. John Haus was named Coca-Cola Player of the Game following a seven-point (4g, 3a) performance. Meanwhile, the Launch was lead by Kieran McArdle with four goals.
"A lot of guys played roles tonight," said Hounds Head Coach Jim Stagnitta. "We started slow but got into a little more sync in the second half. There's a lot of guys that can play and I'm excited because I think we're only scratching the surface. To get a win tonight and have some momentum going into New York next week is exciting."
The Launch jumped out to an early lead, as Lyle Thompson muscled his way through the defense and beat Hounds goalie Charlie Cipriano. McArdle scored on the run one minute later to give the visitors a 2-0 advantage. But the Hounds responded with three straight goals to close out the first quarter, including two from Haus. His second was scored in transition after Cipriano stuffed Thompson at the crease. Cipriano cleared to Henry Lobb who found Haus for the go-ahead goal.
Florida responded with a three-goal run of their own to open the second quarter. Steven Brooks hit a shot from long range then Connor Buczek scored back-to-back, including a two-pointer, to put the Launch in front 6-3. Haus stopped the run briefly with his third of the night off an assist from Colin Dunster, but McArdle beat Cipriano in close to keep the Launch lead at three. Haus tried a wrap-around goal as the game clock expired, but was denied by Launch goalie Austin Kaut and the visitors went into the halftime break with a 7-4 lead.
"At halftime I talked to the guys a lot about moving the ball," said Stagnitta. "We took some shots early in the possession which is something we don't really want to do. Honestly the big difference was Stephen Keogh. He struggled in the first half but he's as good a finisher that has played the game and showed that in the second half."
McArdle scored his third of the night just three minutes into the third, but it was all Hounds after that. Charlotte tallied six straight goals to close out the quarter with a 10-8 advantage. Four of those six goals came from Keogh, and Haus was credited with assists on two of those four.
The Launch put a momentary pause to the Hounds' momentum when Casey Powell scored five minutes into the fourth. But three minutes later Mike Chanenchuk found Garrett Thul who was able to beat Kaut low. That was followed up by the fourth goal of the night for Haus. He got knocked down by his defender, but quickly stood up and buried his shot for a 12-9 lead with 3:41 remaining in the game. Florida got one back from McArdle, but the Hounds came up with some key groundballs in the final minutes to hold on to a 12-10 victory.
"Everybody did their job in the second half," said Stagnitta. "(Alex) Zomerfeld set two great picks that got us goals. Cipriano's been really consistent and came up big every time we needed him to come up big. And I don't think we can ignore the job Stephen O'Hara did on Thompson tonight. That was terrific."
Cipriano finished the game with 12 saves on 21 shots, while Kaut had 14 saves on 26 shots. Meanwhile, Thompson tallied just one goal in his 2016 debut.
The Hounds (3-0) next weekend will travel to the New York Lizards (2-1) for their first road contest of the 2016 season. The Lizards are coming of a 22-10 loss to the Ohio Machine. Faceoff between the Hounds and Lizards at James M. Shuart Stadium is scheduled for 5:00pm ET.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from May 14, 2016
- Hounds Remain Unbeaten with 12-10 Victory over Launch - Charlotte Hounds
- Machine Take Down Defending Champs, 22-10 - Ohio Machine
- News Florida Launch Drop Fourth Straight to Unbeaten Charlotte Hounds - Florida Launch
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