Rookie goaltender Brian Phipps established a career-high with 16 saves, but could only do so much in the face of a barrage of shots, as the Chesapeake Bayhawks were beaten 17-10 by the Boston Cannons on Saturday night before a crowd of 8,370 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Phipps, a 2010 draft pick out of the University of Maryland, singlehandedly kept the Bayhawks in the game in the first half by stopping 11 shots. However, Boston dominated possession in the second half and outscored Chesapeake 11-4.
“Phipps was phenomenal. It certainly wasn’t Phipps’ fault,” Chesapeake head coach Brendan Kelly said. “You can only give up so many transition goals. We didn’t do a good job of getting back in the hole and we didn’t do a good job of substituting out of the box.”
Midfielder Justin Smith scored three goals while attackman Ben Rubeor totaled two goals and two assists for Chesapeake (3-3), which suffered its second straight loss. Midfielder Ben Hunt contributed three points for the Bayhawks, who were playing at home for the first time since May 14.
“We have got to find some consistency. We played great in the first half then faded in the second half,” Kelly said. “We just are not putting four quarters together.”
Perennial All-Pro midfielder Paul Rabil totaled five points on three goals and two assists for first-place Boston (5-1), which has now won four straight. Midfielder Kevin Buchanan scored four goals for the Cannons, who outshot the Bayhawks 33-23.
Boston got a superb performance out of goalie Jordan Burke, who made 14 saves. The Cannons also got seven points from its long stick midfield unit as P.T. Ricci totaled two goals and an assist. Brian Farrell and Kyle Sweeney had a goal and an assist apiece.
“We gave up a lot in transition tonight. We didn’t give Brian Phipps a chance to see the ball,” Chesapeake defenseman Joe Cinosky said. “They were getting too many shots on the doorstep.”
Hunt ignited a second quarter run that briefly gave the Bayhawks control of a back-and-forth game. He fired in a 2-point goal on a hard, overhand crank shot, then cut to the crease and took a feed from Rubeor to score another goal. Smith then followed with a laser low-to-high shot to give Chesapeake a 7-4 lead.
Chesapeake led 7-6 at halftime and increased that advantage to 8-6 early in the third quarter on a power-play goal by Brian Carroll. However, Farrell had a goal and Sweeney an assist as Boston responded with a 3-0 run to regain the lead at 9-8.
Rubeor scored unassisted following a great ground ball and clear by short stick defensive midfielder Steve DeNapoli to break a six-minute scoring drought for the Bayhawks and tie the score at nine.
Boston then took complete control of the game by scoring five straight goals over an eight-minute stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters. Buchanan scored two goals while Rabil had a goal and an assist during that decisive stretch, which increased the visitors lead to 14-9.
“We still have a long season ahead of us, but we have to start playing better as a team,” Kelly said. “We only scored four goals in the second half and that’s not going to cut it. In this league, you have to score goals to win.”
Chesapeake remains home this weekend to battle the Rattlers again at 7:30pm on Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Fans are encouraged to come early and join the Bayhawks for the Bud Light Pre-Game Tailgate in the parking lot. The tailgate will include live music, the Budweiser Clydesdales, and Bud Light specials and is open to all fans. A fireworks show will go on post-game so don’t miss out!
