The Charlotte Hounds lost their first road game on Sunday afternoon, falling 15-12 to the defending MLL Champion Denver Outlaws at Sports Authority Field. The Hounds spent the majority of the game playing from behind, and while they got two late goals, time ran out before the comeback could be completed. Outlaws midfielder Jeremy Sieverts was named Coca-Cola Player of the Game following a four-point (3g, 1a) performance. Meanwhile, the Hounds were lead by Jake Tripucka, who finished with two goals and two assists.
Anthony Kelly won the game’s opening faceoff for the Outlaws, but the teams traded possessions without any goals. In the third minute, Mike Ehrhardt scooped up a loose ball that he dished to Pat Laconi in transition. Laconi then passed off to Brett Schmidt who launched the ball into the back of the net to give the Hounds an early 1-0 lead. But one minute later the Hounds turned the ball over and the Outlaws equalized. Noah Molnar had a shot that went off the post but Greg Melaugh was there to bury the rebound. The next four minutes went scoreless before Terry Kimener found John Haus on the doorstep to put the Hounds back in front 2-1. An unassisted goal from Sieverts would leave the game tied at 2 after one quarter.
Joe Cinosky was hit with a slashing penalty one minute into the second quarter, giving the Outlaws their second man-up opportunity of the game. A shot from Melaugh took an unlucky bounce off the post, setting up Eric Law for the go-ahead goal. The Hounds got their own power-play opportunity one minute later, as Patrick Harbeson was called offsides. Haus took advantage and ripped a long shot to tie the game at 3-3. But the Outlaws put together a four-goal run to make it 7-4. It proved to be a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. The Hounds got back-to-back goals from Brendan Fowler and Tripucka, but the Outlaws matched with two of their own from Justin Pennington and Law to make it a 9-5 game at the half.
The third quarter was marred by sloppy passes and turnovers for both teams. But three minutes in, Hounds goalie Pierce Bassett found Laconi on the clear and Laconi took it all the way to the cage. Josh Dionne added a goal five minutes later to cut the Outlaws lead 9-7, but Drew Snider found the back of the net before the quarter was over, pushing the home team ahead 10-7.
The Outlaws dominated possession in the fourth quarter, opening with three straight goals, including two from Sieverts. The Hounds got back in the game with two goals in 13 seconds, the second of the night for each Tripucka and Fowler. Snider then scored his third of the night for the Outlaws, but Fowler won the ensuing faceoff and Ryan Flanagan scooped up the groundball and took it to the cage to make it a 14-10 game with just over seven minutes to play. Melaugh scored what would be the Outlaws’ last goal with 6:07 remaining for the Hounds to attempt a comeback. It looked possible as Schmidt forced a turnover to set up Kevin Drew for a goal and Fowler won the ensuing faceoff to set up Flanagan who made it 15-12 with 1:12 to play. But Kelly won the next faceoff and the Outlaws were able to hold the ball and run out the clock.
The Hounds (1-2) return home on Sunday, May 10 for a Mother’s Day tilt with the Chesapeake Bayhawks (2-1). The Bayhawks are coming off their first loss of the season, a 12-9 decision to the Ohio Machine. Faceoff is scheduled for 1:00pm ET at American Legion Memorial Stadium.
