Walters Totals Six Points as Chesapeake Sends Cottle out a Winner
July 27, 2015 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Chesapeake Bayhawks News Release
Midfielder Joe Walters and faceoff specialist Charlie Raffa led the way as the Chesapeake Bayhawks put forth an inspired performance on behalf of their head coach en route to beating the Charlotte Hounds, 15-13, in the regular season finale for both teams.
Dave Cottle told the team during Friday's practice that Saturday night's game would be his last as Chesapeake's head coach. Cottle intends to remain with the organization as president. To a man, the Bayhawks said they wanted to send Cottle out in style and the result was one of the team's finest efforts of the season.
"This was one of my favorite teams to coach. They fight their tails off every time out," Cottle said. "I'm happy for the players that we finished the season on a positive note. It was never about me, it was about the team."
Cottle joined the Chesapeake organization as a consultant in 2010 and played an instrumental role in helping owner-coach Brendan Kelly lead the team to the Major League Lacrosse championship that year. Cottle served as Kelly's assistant the following season before being named president and head coach prior to the 2012 campaign.
Cottle directed Chesapeake to consecutive championships in 2012 and 2013. He is the first Major League Lacrosse coach to surpass 100 career victories.
Veteran defenseman Michael Evans, one of the team leaders, said the players were highly motivated to post a victory in Cottle's farewell contest as head coach. "Coach Cottle is one of the most iconic figures in the game of lacrosse and we definitely wanted to get a win for him in his last game coaching the Bayhawks," Evans said.
Walters was simply brilliant as a playmaker, dishing off five assists while also scoring two goal for a game-high seven points. Walters seemed to have eyes in the back of his head as he repeatedly threaded the needle on no-look passes and often delivered the ball before they even came open.
"I pride myself on sharing the ball and setting up my teammates. I got five assists because people were finishing tonight," Walters said.
Walters played for Cottle at the University of Maryland and was happy he could walk away as a winner.
"I have huge respect and love for Coach Cottle. I'm grateful to have played for him in both college and the pros," Walters said. "We'll miss having him on the sideline, but we're excited that he'll still be with the Bayhawks."
Attackman Drew Westervelt had his best outing of the 2015 campaign, recapturing the accuracy on his cannon crank shot in scoring three goals. Westervelt stuck several corners by unleashing extremely hard shots and also dished off two assists.
Attackman Ben Rubeor did a terrific job of finishing inside in scoring four goals and also added an assist. Two-way midfielder Matt Abbott contributed a goal and two assists. Cottle's decision to run Matt Danowski out of the box proved wise as the team's leading scorer ran right past short stick defenders to score two goals.
Raffa, a rookie out of Maryland, was the catalyst of the offense as he dominated the draws. Raffa showed why he was a two-time collegiate All-American by capturing 19 of 29 faceoffs - marking the first time this season that Chesapeake has come out on top in that crucial category.
Raffa scored a big goal toward the end of the third quarter by winning the faceoff outright, racing into the offensive zone and pouncing a shot past Charlotte keeper Pierce Bassett. Raffa was deservedly named Coca-Cola Player of the Game.
"Charlie Raffa did an incredible job at the faceoff stripe. I think you can see what a huge difference that makes. Charlie was awesome tonight and showed that he belongs in this league," Walters said.
Goalkeeper Tyler Fiorito turned in another outstanding effort for Chesapeake, recording 18 saves in just three quarters of work. Fiorito finished the season with 255 saves, which ranks third all-time in MLL for a single season. He sat out the third quarter so Cottle could give rookie Niko Amato an opportunity to play for the first time this season.
Trailing 13-11 midway through the fourth quarter, Chesapeake dug deep to avoid closing the season with five straight losses. Danowski raced out of the box and blew past his short stick defender before ripping a sidearm crank into the top corner while shooting on the run.
Rubeor then used a great spin move to beat his defender from behind and drove to goal-line extended before firing a short shot into the net for an unassisted goal that tied the score at 13 with 5:26 to go.
Rubeor also scored the go-ahead goal by finishing a beautiful fastbreak with a one-on-one shot from the crease. Short stick defensive midfielder Jeff Reynolds started the transition opportunity by causing a turnover, scooping the ground and clearing the ball. Reynolds drew the point man then dished to Westervelt on the right side. Westervelt quickly dished inside to Rubeor, who used one fake to beat Bassett and put the Bayhawks ahead 14-13 with 3:15 remaining.
Chesapeake appeared to get an insurance goal moments later, but officials ruled that Matt Donovan's shot did not hit the back of the net until after the shot clock expired. That necessitated another defensive stop and the Bayhawks got it when close defenseman Jesse Bernhardt picked off a pass and quickly cleared the ball into home territory.
Walters then scored an insurance goal with 30 seconds left on the clock, scoring into an empty net as Charlotte pulled the goalie in an attempt to double the ball. Westervelt ran away from pressure and passed to Walters cutting to the crease.
"We've lost so many games in the fourth quarter this season. To be down by two in the fourth and come back to win by two just shows the character of this team," Walters said.
It was Fan Appreciation Night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and a superb crowd of 5,411 turned out. Following the game, members of the Bayhawks gave away autographed jerseys to select fans.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from July 27, 2015
- Major League Lacrosse and US Lacrosse Announce 2015 Player and Team Sportsmanship Award Winners - MLL
- Greg Beast Gurenlian Awarded USL/MLL Sportsmanship Player of the Year - New York Lizards
- Walters Totals Six Points as Chesapeake Sends Cottle out a Winner - Chesapeake Bayhawks
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.
