Team USA Returnees Help Bayhawks Clinch
from press release
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Midfielder Kyle Dixon
led a balanced attack with four points while goalie Chris Garrity
anchored a strong defensive effort with 14 saves as the Chesapeake
Bayhawks clinched a postseason berth with a 20-12 victory over the
Chicago Machine on Saturday night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial
Stadium in front of a crowd of 7,297.
Midfielders Brian Carroll, Ben Hunt and Jed Prossner all totaled
two goals and an assist for Chesapeake (5-6), which snapped a
five-game losing streak in impressive fashion. Midfielders Michael
Kimmel and Peet Poillon along with attackman Andrew
“Buggs” Combs scored two goals apiece for the Bayhawks,
who posted their second-highest point total of the season.
“Our main goal was to win and stay alive. To come out and win
by eight goals and get into the playoffs is icing on the cake.
We’re back after five years and we’re going to give
everyone a run for their money,” said Garrity, who was named
Bud Light Most Valuable Player.
Chesapeake needed to beat Chicago by at least four goals in order
to secure a spot in the Major League Lacrosse Championship, being
held Aug. 21-22 in Annapolis. The Bayhawks accomplished that task
thanks to a tremendous third quarter in which they outscored the
Machine 10-1.
“We got back to what we do best. When we move the ball
we’re unbelievable, when we don’t move the ball
we’re terrible,” Chesapeake president and head coach
Brendan Kelly said. “We worked really hard on that the last
two weeks, I put the guys on the field that I felt moved the ball
the best, and we came out and scored 20 goals. I’m really
proud of these guys.”
Hunt and Prossner both scored twice as Chesapeake came out on fire
and netted eight straight goals to open the third period.
Midfielder Jeremy Sieverts fired in a clutch 2-point goal during
the dominating run. Combs, who has announced his retirement after a
tremendous eight-year professional career, added two goals as the
Bayhawks took a commanding 20-11 lead.
“I think this is probably the second time this season we put
together a complete game. Our offense was clicking on all cylinders
while the defense just dominated,” Hunt said. “We ran
two offensive midfields the whole game and I think we wore down
Chicago in the second half. We came out in the third quarter and
just exploded on them and built a big lead that made it hard for
them to come back.”
Combs, a former University of Maryland standout who began his
career with the Bayhawks and also played for Rochester and Los
Angeles, was recognized in a special ceremony prior to the game.
The Towson native was all smiles afterward as he was thrilled to
see the team’s offense get going again.
“We got back to being unselfish. If you take a look at
this tape, you will see three and four passes before every
goal,” Combs said. “It wasn’t the first dodge
then shoot. You can’t win in this league doing that. We were
dodging and moving the ball quickly and finding the open
shooters.”
Since making a coaching change on July 12, Chesapeake has conducted
two mandatory practices that were far more intense than usual.
Combs said Kelly and the rest of the coaching staff sent a strong
message to the players.
“We’ve gone at each other really hard the last couple
practices. I’m not surprised by this result because I know
from those practices that this team has taken its effort to another
level,” Combs said.
Chesapeake benefitted from the return of four key players who
helped the United States national team capture the Federation of
International Lacrosse World Championship. Alex Smith resumed
taking faceoffs and won 19 of 34, including seven straight during
the decisive third quarter run. Dixon was again serving as the
team’s offensive quarterback and delivered two goals
(including a 2-pointer) and an assist. Joe Cinosky returned to the
close defense and was joined by Shawn Nadelen, who had not played
for Chesapeake this season while rehabilitating a knee injury in
order to represent Team USA.
Nadelen, who has now played in a franchise record 93 career games
for the Bayhawks, spearheaded a bruising defensive effort that
limited the Machine to 27 shots. Many of those were low-percentage
attempts from the perimeter that Garrity ate up.
“Getting Shawn Nadelen back was huge. He’s a veteran
guy who brings a lot of toughness. He was putting people on their
backs and that was good to see,” Kelly said.
Boston (7-3) and Denver (7-3), which played each other Saturday
night, had already clinched playoff berths. Long Island (6-5)
clinched the fourth spot last night with a 16-11 victory over
Toronto.
“We wanted to make a point tonight. We didn’t just want
to win by four, we wanted to beat (Chicago) convincingly and show
that we deserve to be in the playoffs,” Kelly said.
“Our goal is to win a championship, not just make the
playoffs. It takes playing with passion and consistency. I’m
not satisfied with just making the playoffs. We’ve got a
great opportunity to win a championship on our home
field.”
BAYHAWKS BITS: Dixon fired in his league-leading
10th 2-point goal of the season. The fifth-year veteran out of
Virginia now has 27 career 2-pointers, second in MLL history behind
Roy Colsey (33)… Chesapeake midfielders Ben Hunt (Severna
Park, North Carolina) and Brian Vetter (Annapolis, Towson) will
sign autographs today at the Sports Clips franchise located in the
Festival at Riva off Forest Drive.
