Even though the focus this past weekend was on the NCAA, MLL action continued with two games. The Charlotte Hounds cemented their place as the turnaround team of the season as they held on to first place. The Dallas Rattlers remained in second place as they added to the Florida Launch’s losing streak. Florida, Ohio and Dallas, last season’s playoff teams, find themselves on the outside looking in on the playoff scenario. Over half the season remains with a lot of lacrosse left to play. Look for even more intense play and goal scoring as teams want to narrow the gap with the top four and increase their scoring totals.
Ohio 12 @ Charlotte 14
Charlotte remained in first place after they completed a season sweep of defending champion Ohio over the weekend. The Hounds wasted little time as they jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the first quarter. The onslaught continued as Charlotte extended their lead to 8-3 at halftime. The Machine’s offense began to fire on all cylinders in the third quarter as they scored four goals to make the score 13-7. The Ohio defense held Charlotte to a single score in the fourth quarter as their offense scored five goals, but it was not enough to overcome the early lead the Hounds built.
Charlie Cipriano made 14 saves in the Charlotte win as Kyle Bernlohr had a rough outing making only nine. Michael Ehrhardt earned defensive player of the week honours with his performance that included four ground balls, two caused turnovers, and a blocked shot. Ehrhardt helped stop the Ohio rally by intercepting a Machine pass in the last 30 seconds of the game to seal the victory. Matt Rambo led Charlotte in scoring with six points (5G/1A) on his way to earning offensive player of the week honours. Marcus Holman (1G/3A) and Jake Bernhardt (2G/2A) led Ohio with four points each. Kevin Massa and Noah Rak combined for a 17-29 advantage on faceoffs in the close game.
Up next: First place Charlotte hosts 2-4 Denver while Ohio travels to 3-2 Chesapeake.
Dallas 19 @ Florida 13
Dallas faced an early test against a determined Florida team looking to get back on track against the second place Rattlers. Dallas held a tight 4-3 lead at the end of the first quarter. Both offenses hit their stride in the second, but Dallas extended their lead to two goals with a 10-8 score at the half. The Rattlers pulled ahead of the Launch 15-11 in the third as Florida’s offense began to run out of steam. Dallas capitalized on Florida’s two-goal output in the fourth and rode to another win that kept them in second place.
John Galloway made 13 saves in the win while Austin Kaut continued having an all-star year with 17 saves. Jordan Wolf (5G) and Cody Radziewicz (3G/2A) led Dallas with five points each. Dylan Molloy (5G/1A) led Florida with six points. Drew Simoneau continued to rule the X as he went 21-36 on faceoffs.
Up next: Dallas gets a week off while Florida looks to get back in the win column as they travel to last place Boston.
