Nationals Fighting for Sole Possession of Second Place
July 27, 2011 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Hamilton Nationals News Release
(Hamilton, July 27, 2011)... The Hamilton Nationals travel to play the Chesapeake Bayhawks on Saturday, July 30th at 7:00 p.m. The Nationals are riding a franchise-record three-game road winning streak. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com. Head-to-Head: Hamilton is 4-4 lifetime against Chesapeake. The game is the second of three meetings this season between the two teams. The last time they met, the Bayhawks edged the Nationals, 12-11, in overtime on a goal by Steven Brooks on July 16th.
Hamilton Notes: In their last contest, the Nationals roared back in the second half with eight goals to defeat the first-place Boston Cannons 16-12 at Harvard Stadium on July 23rd. Defensive midfielder Donny Moss netted his third professional goal and first game winner to help the Nats move into a three-way tie for second (5-4). Hamilton has now won four of its last five games. Brett Bucktooth netted a career-high five goals and Cody Jamieson scored three goals and added one assist. Goalie Scott Rodgers made a career-best 20 saves to win his third game of the season. Rodgers is fourth in the league with a 12.34 goals-against average. Joe Walters hit for two fourth-quarter goals and added two assists to move into a tie for third place (13+1+17) in the MLL in points. Walters also tied the team's single-season assist record, which he set in 2009. Brodie Merrill leads all MLL defensemen with 12 points (3+1+8) and is first in the league with 60 ground balls.
Brodie second to 500: Nationals defenseman Brodie Merrill collected 13 ground balls to become only the second player in MLL history to reach the 500 mark. Merrill (507) is second in league history to Paul Cantabene (538).
Five first teamers: The Nationals have five First Team All-Americans from the Class of 2011: Matt Dolente (Johns Hopkins), Kevin Ridgway (Notre Dame), David Earl (Notre Dame), Jeremy Boltus (Army) and Kevin Crowley (Stony Brook).
A 'Bolt' of offense: Rookie Jeremy Boltus of the U.S. Military Academy leads the Nationals with a seven-game goal-scoring streak and a nine-game point streak. Boltus leads all MLL rookies with 23 points (16+7). He is four goals away from moving into the MLL Top 10 all-time in rookie single-season tallies. He trails Mike Springer (Bridgeport - 2003) and Conor Gill (Boston - 2003). Kevin Huntley has the record with 30 (LA - 2008).
Bayhawks Notes: Chesapeake is tying to rebound from a 15-8 loss to the Long Island Lizards, which dropped it into a three-way tie for second. The loss denied Chesapeake a chance to clinch a playoff berth and extend its winning streak to three games. The Bayhawks were outscored 9-2 in the second half. Attackman Danny Glading led the Hawks with five points (2+3) to move into a third-place tie in the MLL with 31 points. Faceoff man Alex Smith leads the MLL with 134 faceoff wins and has won 55 percent of his draws. The Bayhawks have allowed the most points in the MLL with 118. Chesapeake, however, has been the most successful team on the man down, limiting opponents to six goals on 30 opportunities (80 percent). Kyle Dixon has 30 career two-point goals, which is four shy of passing Roy Colsey for first all-time in MLL history.
Next Game: The Nationals return home to host the Boston Cannons on Saturday, August 6th at 7:00 p.m. at Ron Joyce Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from July 27, 2011
- Nationals Fighting for Sole Possession of Second Place - Hamilton Nationals
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