March 28, 2024
Annapolis, US 47 F

Bayhawks are 2-5 with Saturday’s defeat of Boston Cannons

june14thgameMidfielder Ben Hunt totaled a career-high eight points while attackman Brendan Mundorf scored a season-high five goals as the Chesapeake Bayhawks won a wild, back-and-forth shootout with the Boston Cannons, 16-15 to send a partisan crowd of 6,843 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium home happy.

“I thought we played much better offensively. I thought our guys moved the ball better. We passed the ball to each other and we celebrated with each other,” Chesapeake Head Coach Dave Cottle said. “Obviously, Ben Hunt and Brendan Mundorf really stepped up and had big games.”

Hunt scored a career-high six goals and also dished off two assists for Chesapeake (2-5), which snapped a four-game losing streak. The sixth-year professional out of North Carolina scored all his goals on cannon crank shots into the corners.

“Ben got to the middle of the field. We showed him film that he’d been rolling too much. He’s a big, strong kid and when he moves to the middle of the field he’s very dangerous,” Cottle said.

Mundorf also fired in some hard crank shots and also scored on hard-nosed dodges from behind the cage. The left-handed attackman, a former Major League Lacrosse Most Valuable Player, scored the game-winning goal on the latter – using a quick first step to get past his defender, getting to goal-line extended and bouncing a short shot past Boston goalie Jordan Burke to break the ninth tie of the game.

“I thought Brendan was tremendous tonight and that last one to give us the lead was an incredible effort. He exploded backside and made an amazing shot,” Cottle said.

Midfielder Matt Mackrides contributed a goal and two assists while attackman Drew Westervelt scored two goals for Chesapeake, which won for the first time since May 3rd. Goalkeeper Kip Turner made 15 saves for the Bayhawks, who reached a season-high for goals.

“There’s not a perfect prescription for victory, but we found a way to gut one out,” Cottle said. “There’s no doubt that we needed this one.”

Midfielder Stephen Berger scored four goals for Boston (3-4), which has now suffered four one-goal losses this season. Burke had 11 saves for the Cannons.

It was a back-and-forth first quarter that featured three ties, but Chesapeake never trailed. Hunt scored two goals on strong individual dodges while Mundorf netted two goals on superb shots, first of which was an amazing underhand release in heavy traffic on the crease. Hunt also assisted Westervelt on a sidearm rocket as Chesapeake led 5-4 after the opening 15 minutes.

Hunt opened the second quarter scoring by dodging down the right alley and sending an overhand crank shot into the offside low corner, giving him a hat trick with just 16 ½ minutes elapsed. Rookie attackman Brandon Benn then scored his first professional goal by finishing a fast-break off a nice feed from Mackrides to give Chesapeake its largest lead at 7-4.

However, Boston responded with a momentum-changing 7-0 run that was by fueled by a five-minute, non-releasable penalty on Chesapeake defenseman Nicky Polanco for unsportsmanlike conduct. Berger scored four goals while defensive midfielder Brent Adams fired in a 2-point during the onslaught, which occurred in a span of just over six minutes and gave the Cannons an 11-7 halftime lead. Three of the seven goals came on the power play.

Chesapeake finally stemmed the tide early in the third period as Hunt came out of the box, took a pass from fellow midfielder Joe Walters and unleashed an overhand cannon blast into the top corner to cut the deficit to 11-8. Walters followed with another assist just two minutes later, feeding Mackrides for a goal as the shot clock expired to pull the Bayhawks within two.

Hunt would prove the catalyst of a 4-0 over the opening 5 minutes, 16 seconds of the second half that pulled Chesapeake into an 11-11 tie. The sixth-year professional assisted Westervelt for an extra man goal then scored himself on another overhand rocket.

Long stick midfielder Brodie Merrill briefly halted the rally, scooping a ground ball at midfield than racing into the box for an uncontested shot that put Boston back ahead, 12-11. However, a two-minute, non-releasable penalty on Berger for having an illegal stick enabled the Bayhawks to take their first lead since the 8:24 mark of the second quarter.

Hunt stuck a sidearm laser into the top corner and Mundorf followed with a power play goal to make it 13-12 in favor of the home team. Adams got open on the crease for a goal with just 6.7 seconds left to make it 13-13 going into the fourth quarter.

The final 15 minutes were played at the same wild, back-and-forth pace as the opening 45. Boyle used multiple fakes to finish a fastbreak with a goal that put Boston ahead 14-13, but Mundorf answered with a one-handed flip off a drive from behind to retie things.

Rabil dodged down the left alley and scored on a left-handed bouncer to put the Cannons up 15-14, but midfielder Matt Abbott responded by winning a tough ground ball in his own end and scoring from the crease to forge the ninth tie at 15-all.

Mundorf then scored the 16th and most important goal for the Bayhawks, dodging from behind and bouncing a short shot past Burke to put the Bayhawks ahead by one with 2:57 remaining. Turner then stuffed Berger on a point-blank shot with two minutes to go.

It appeared that Berger tied the score for a 10th time with 8.7 seconds left, but Cottle challenged the goal. Berger dove from behind and replays showed that his foot was on the crease, disallowing the score.

“I heard his stick hit the pipe,” Cottle said of why he challenged Berger’s goal. “We challenged whether he stepped in the crease and whether he landed in the crease before the ball went in.”

The Bayhawks 2014 Season Tickets are now available and can be purchased over the phone by calling the box office 866-99-HAWKS (42957). Visit us at www.thebayhawks.com for the full schedule. This season, the Bayhawks and Lexus are giving away an ES350 to one lucky Season Ticket Holder at the last game of the season. Every Season Ticket purchased will amount to one entry into the giveaway.

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