The Boston Cannons had an opportunity to separate from the pack with a win in Rochester this weekend. Instead, it was the Rochester Rattlers who did just that with a 13-6 victory over Boston. Rochester is now tied with Ohio for second place in the league behind undefeated New York.
The Cannons are now 4-4, tied with the Chesapeake Bayhawks and slumping Denver Outlaws for the final playoff seed.
Jordan Wolf was the star of the game, scoring five goals with two assists to lead the Rattlers. Rochester jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back, holding the Cannons to just three goals before half time.
They also held Boston to three goals in the second half, totaling six. The Cannons had been in the midst of a three game winning streak to recover from a 1-3 start to the season. However, two of those victories did come over Charlotte and Florida, the two worst teams in the league. This was obviously a much tougher contest.
Brent Adams and Will Manny each scored two goals. The other two came from Max Seibald and Rob Emery.
Boston had defeated Rochester in overtime in May from Gillette Stadium. The Rattlers were able to get their revenge and have positioned themselves nicely before going into the all star break. Both they and Ohio have settled in at the mid season point to break out from the pack that had formed behind the New York Lizards.
The Cannons have found some strength and consistency in this rebuilding season. Manny has become the leader they’d hoped he would be. Rob Emery and Davey Emala have been solid secondary pieces and Seibald has added a veteran presence. Even without Brodie Merrill for half the season, their defense has also been fine. Scott Ratliff has become the defender they’d anticipated when they drafted him and Chad Weidmaier has been a shut down guy.
One of their struggles, however, has been in net. Jordan Burke has struggled, but Adam Ghitelman has shown flashes of who he was in Charlotte last season.
The Cannons have an opportunity to become a playoff team if they play well down the stretch. Denver has slumped, and they had a chance to take advantage of it this weekend. The Bayhawks are making a run and could be a detriment to Boston as well. Rochester and Ohio are young teams and could slip. There is still a lot of lacrosse left to be played.
The Cannons have just two games at Gillette Stadium in the second half; on June 28th against the Bayhawks and July 11th against Ohio. They also have games at Chesapeake, Ohio, and Denver. Denver is the toughest team in the league to play on the road and the two matchups with the Machine and Bayhawks will be crucial.
