Yesterday’s MLL Semi Finals were everything a lacrosse fan could want in a game. The underdog going up against Goliath and two teams that were similar in ways, duking it out and going until that final whistle.
Charlotte had the best game of their season yesterday against Denver, and it was the right time to do so. The Hounds are the youngest team going into the Championship today, with the best rookie class in the MLL on their roster. Jake Tripucka, Mike Sawyer, Josh Hawkins, Mason Poli and Matt White all had a big part of the Hounds win. Geoff Snider and Timmy Fallon took down Anthony Kelly and Stephen Robarge at the face-off X, winning 22-32 draws. Adam Ghitelman made seventeen saves, nine of which came in the third quarter alone. These will all be keys for Charlotte heading into todays matchup.
Chesapeake is old school style. They have veteran status all over the field. Casey Powell and John Grant Jr at attack, Brian Spallina on defense, these guys have been to a finals game more than anyone on the field. The question is, can they play two games back to back and keep up with a young, fast Hounds team? The key to their game will be possessing the ball and not letting Charlotte get their fast breaks, along with staying out of the penalty box. Including making the Charlotte defense work and having the Ben’s, Rubeor and Hunt, going off on cage.
Finally, getting to 16 goals first will help. In both of these two teams’ split games, the winner has scored 16 goals.
Who will reach sixteen first and call themselves champions? Find out today at 3 p.m. from PPL Park or on ESPN2.
