DELAWARE, Ohio – The Ohio Machine moved a step closer to earning its first Major League Lacrosse playoff berth Saturday night, taking a 13-12 overtime victory over the Charlotte Hounds at Selby Stadium.
Rookie Tom Schreiber’s goal midway through the sudden-death overtime period gave the Machine (5-6) their first-ever season sweep over the Hounds (4-7), and moved them into a tie for fourth place in the MLL standings with the Boston Cannons.
Meanwhile, Charlotte – a surprise finalist in last year’s MLL championship game – saw its hopes of a second straight playoff berth hit a major speed bump. The loss drops the Hounds to seventh in the league standings, just a half-game back of the Florida Launch (4-6), which plays the Denver Outlaws (7-3) on Sunday.
The Machine had been in control of the game until the closing seconds of regulation, when Charlotte attacker Ryan Young muscled through a triple-team to score with 1.9 seconds remaining, tying the score at 12-12 and sending the game into overtime.
In the extra period, the teams traded scoring opportunities before Schreiber – taking advantage of a Hounds defensive miscue – put a low ball past Charlotte goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman with 5:01 remaining to give the Machine their second straight win.
Derek Maltz, making his first appearance since being taken by Ohio in the fifth round of the 2014 MLL draft, had four goals for the Machine, who were missing leading scorers Kyle Harrison and Marcus Holman for the FIL World Championships.
Logan Schuss added three goals and an assist, Brian Farrell had two goals, and both Schreiber and Peter Baum finished with one goal and three assists each for Ohio.
Justin Ward had three goals for Charlotte, which dropped of 0-5 in road games this season, with Ryan Young and Matt Danowski adding two goals apiece. But the Hounds were outclassed in faceoffs – Tim Fallon managed to win just 12 of 29 against Robert Dattilo (10 of 16) and Eric O’Brien (7 of 13).
Ghitelman had 16 saves in goal for Charlotte, while Brian Phipps made 17 saves for the Machine.
