Charlotte Hounds defeat Denver to get first home win in a year
It’s been a year since the Charlotte Hounds won a game at home, and a little more than that since they won two straight.
Both of those streaks ended Saturday, as the Hounds defeated the Denver Outlaws 14-11 in a rain-delayed Major League Lacrosse game at Memorial Stadium.
Kevin Cunningham scored four goals and assisted on three goals for Charlotte (3-7), and four others added two goals apiece as the Hounds followed up their win over previously-undefeated New York Lizards last week by beating the defending MLL champions.
Saturday’s victory over the Outlaws (5-5) gave Charlotte its first back-to-back wins since beating Denver and the Florida Launch on June 7 and June 14 last year, a span of 13 games.
The win also ended the Hounds’ seven-game home losing streak, which had dated to June 28, 2014, when they beat the Boston Cannons.
After battling through three lead changes and three ties in the first half, Charlotte took the lead for good at 4-3 on Shamel Bratton’s goal with 4.7 seconds left in the second quarter.
That kicked off a nine-goal run for the Hounds, spanning most of the third quarter, that put Charlotte ahead 12-4 entering the final period.
Denver – coming off a 22-21 overtime victory over the Rochester (N.Y.) Rattlers last week – battled back in the fourth quarter. The Outlaws pulled within 13-11 on Erik Adamson’s third goal of the game with 2 minutes, 46 seconds remaining.
However, Cunningham scored twice in the fourth quarter, including a game-clinching goal with 1:49 remaining.
Worth mentioning
Bratton finished with two goals for the Hounds, along with Mike Chanenchuk, Mike Sawyer and John Haus. Joey Sankey and Michael Ehrhardt had one goal each. … Haus and Sankey also had two assists each, with Chanenchuk, Brendan Fowler and Will Haus adding one assist each. … Fowler went 20-of-26 (69.6 percent) on faceoffs against three different Outlaws players, his best performance this season.
What’s next?
The Hounds travel to Boca Raton, Fla., to face the Florida Launch on Friday. Game time at FAU Stadium is 7:30 p.m. Charlotte will host the Launch at Memorial Stadium on July 11 in the Hounds’ final home game of the season.
This story was originally published June 27, 2015 at 11:50 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hounds defeat Denver to get first home win in a year."