Thompson Totals Seven Points as BayHawks Fall to Cannons in OT, 11-12
August 17, 2019 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Chesapeake Bayhawks News Release
ANNAPOLIS, MD - Superstar attackman Lyle Thompson had another spectacular night with seven points, but his offensive efforts were not enough as the Chesapeake Bayhawks were beaten by the Boston Cannons on Military Appreciation Night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Thompson scored three goals and dished off four assists to spark the Bayhawks in a back-and-forth affair, but the Cannons got the final goal to pull out a 12-11 overtime victory on Saturday night in Annapolis.
Attackman Colin Heacock scored four goals for Chesapeake (7-4), who fell back into a tie for first place in Major League Lacrosse with Boston (7-4). Midfielder Brendan Bomberry contributed two goals and an assist for the Bayhawks, who were the victims of a couple non-calls in the extra session.
Boston won the faceoff to start overtime from Kevin Reisman pushing counterpart Kenny Massa in the back while Massa was trying to scoop a ground ball. This no-call did not wind up mattering because the defense forced a turnover to prevent the Cannons for getting off a potential game-winning shot.
Down on the other end, Thompson used a sweet swim move to get open, but his sidearm shot went way wide and out of bounds. Boston regained possession and, this time, did finish with midfielder Zed Williams getting to the middle of the field.
Williams dipped his shoulder into Isaiah Davis-Allen in what could easily have been a warding off penalty, but there was no call. The space that Williams created allowed him to get off a clean shot that ended overtime.
"If [Williams] just dipped his shoulder it's okay, but if he lifted his arm at all it's a ward," said Chesapeake Head Coach Dave Cottle. "In the end, that is not what won or lost the game. We turned the ball over way too much and that is what cost us this game."
Niko Amato was solid between the pipes throughout the game and finished with 13 saves while Massa dominated the draws to give the Bayhawks an 18-8 advantage in that department. First-year midfielders John Wagner and Shane Simpson had goals for Chesapeake.
Chesapeake must put the tough loss behind them as they play next Saturday and Sunday. They will be on the road against Atlanta on the 24th and return home versus Dallas on the 25th.
"We have no other choice than to bounce back from this. We've got two big games next weekend and we need to get better between now and then," Cottle said.
Chesapeake jumped on top early with Wagner dodging from the wing to the middle of the field to deliver a shot past the hip of Boston goalie Nick Marrocco. There was a long scoreless stretch after the Cannons tied the score at one before Heacock followed with an overhand ripper off a cross-field feed from Thompson with 5:51 left in the first period.
That is how it stayed for the remainder of the opening period, but the Bayhawks surged early in the second. Thompson beat his defender one-on-one and stuck a hard shot into the top corner, while Bomberry scored from the doorstep thanks to an impressive display of rapid ball movement off a power play opportunity Simpson used his tremendous speed to dodge down the alley for an unassisted goal and suddenly it was 5-2 in favor of the Bayhawks. Boston rallied to even the score, and it was back-and-forth the rest of the second stanza. Colin Heacock finished the back-and-forth by scoring to make it 7-7.
Thompson drove into his defender at the beginning of the third quarter, then rolled back and fired a sidearm low-to-high shot that put the Bayhawks back ahead. Both teams scored two goals in that period with Heacock using a strong dodge to the middle of the field to ensure a 9-9 deadlock going into the final frame.
Boston took its first lead of the game at 10-9, but Thompson responded immediately with another tremendous individual move - driving to goal-line extended then rolling back to his right and using a quick release to beat the keeper.
Midfielder Kyle Denhoff scored unassisted off an alley dodge with an overhand finish to put the Cannons ahead 11-10 with 2:59 remaining, but the Bayhawks still had more in their tank.
Defenseman Jesse Bernhardt scooped a groundball along the sideline and Cottle immediately called timeout to set up a play. Thompson drove from behind the net and the Cannons immediately sent a double-team at him, leaving Bomberry wide open on the crease.
Thompson made a perfect dump-off pass to Bomberry, who turned and sent a hard bouncer into the cage to tie the score 11-11 with 54.8 seconds remaining in regulation.
Davis-Allen fought hard to get the groundball off the ensuing faceoff and the Bayhawks quickly called another timeout. Assistant Coach and Offensive Coordinator Tom Mariano once again had Thompson dodge from behind the cage, but this time he was triple-teamed and could not get off a shot.
Chesapeake will look to bounce back on the road against the Atlanta Blaze on August 24th at 8:00 PM EST.
The Bayhawks return home the following day, Sunday, August 25th, for their 5:00PM matchup against the Dallas Ratters. This game will be Fan Appreciation Night and tickets are available at thebayhawks.com/tickets. They also can be purchased by calling the Chesapeake Bayhawks Ticket Office at 866-99-HAWKS or by emailing them at sales@thebayhawks.com. The Lexus Tailgate Zone will open at 2:30 PM and feature live music, photo booth, games for kids and complimentary Bud Light for ticket holders 21 and older.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from August 17, 2019
- Rattlers Extend Winning Streak to Four Games - Dallas Rattlers
- NY Lizards Lose to Atlanta Blaze at Home - New York Lizards
- Thompson Totals Seven Points as BayHawks Fall to Cannons in OT, 11-12 - Chesapeake Bayhawks
- Denver Outlaws Fall to 6-5 with 17-12 Loss to Dallas Rattlers - Denver Outlaws
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