Charlotte Hounds (3-4) at New York Lizards (3-4)
7 p.m., Shuart Stadium, Hempstead, N.Y.
The Game: Two teams heading in opposite directions in the Major League Lacrosse standings face off Saturday.
The Hounds have won two straight games, beating two of the league’s best teams in Denver – ending the Outlaws’ 25-game regular-season winning streak – and Florida.
Meanwhile, the Lizards have lost two straight – ironically, also against Denver and Florida – to drop into a four-way tie for fifth place in the MLL standings with Charlotte, Boston and Ohio.
The winner of Saturday’s game will take a big jump up in the league standings – into a tie for third place at 4-4, along with the loser of Friday’s Rochester-Florida game and the winner of Saturday’s Ohio-Boston game.
What the Hounds are saying: “You’ve hit on something right there – ‘on the road.’ The MLL, with so much parity, winning on the road is a tall order. We’ve got to make sure we’ve got a good opportunity on the road. We’ve got a lot of Long Island guys on the roster, so we’ve got to make sure they’re focused. This is a business trip going up there. We’re 3-4 in the middle of the season, but we’re in the playoff hunt. That’s the whole thing – trying to find a way to get into the tournament at the end (of the season), so you have a chance to win this thing.” – Charlotte head coach Mike Cerino
What the Lizards are saying: “When you look back at a year ago, this game against Charlotte came almost at the same time of the year, and it sent both teams in different directions. Last year, when Charlotte beat us (14-12 on May 31, 2013), it kinda made they believe they could win enough games to get into the playoffs. … When we lost that game in the fashion that we lost it (being outscored by the Hounds 5-0 in the fourth quarter), it kinda sent us spiraling in the opposite way.” – New York head coach Joe Spallina
Prediction: Saturday’s game will be the first true test of the ‘new’ Charlotte lineup, which has finally stabilized with the addition of two veterans – attacker Matt Danowski and goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman – and a number of its 2014 college draft picks to the rotation. A number of those newcomers – Justin Ward, Mike Chanenchuk, Michael Ehrhardt, Thomas DeNapoli and Pat Laconi – have proved vital in the Hounds’ wins over Denver and Florida.
Meanwhile, New York has had its struggles of late despite having the league’s top faceoff specialist in Greg Gurenlian (60 percent) and two of the MLL’s top scorers in Rob Pannell (15 goals, 10 assists) and Max Siebald (12 goals, two assists).
Of course, one thing that’s worked against the Lizards has been their schedule – five of their first seven games were on the road. Saturday’s game opens a three-game homestand, and five of their last seven are all at home. Still, the Hounds will carry a lot of momentum into Saturday’s game from its wins over the Outlaws and the Launch. Charlotte 15, New York 13
