MEDIA RELEASE CHESAPEAKE BAYHAWKS 4/22/17
Goalie Brian Phipps made a spectacular season debut with 19 saves while midfielder Myles Jones scored four points as the Chesapeake Bayhawks came out on the short end of a 15-14 overtime thriller with the New York Lizards in the opener for both teams on Saturday night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Attackman Nate Lewnes scored three goals in his first professional game while defensive midfielder Matt Bertrams scored two goals for Chesapeake, which could not hold onto a 13-11 lead heading into the last quarter.
“Overall, I’m very happy with how well our team played. I thought we ran really hard and played with tremendous effort and intensity,” Chesapeake Head Coach Brian Reese said. “I’m not into moral victories, but as long as the team can bring that type of effort and attitude to every game, I think we’re going to be in good shape.”
Three players – attackmen Garrett Thul and James Carlson along with midfielder Kevin Cooper – chipped in a goal and an assist each for Chesapeake, which had a chance to win in regulation.
Defenseman Joe Cinosky won a wild scramble for a ground ball in New York’s offensive end and was pushed in the back by attackman Mark Gibson. That penalty gave the Bayhawks an extra man opportunity with just under a minute to go and Carlson wound up with a point-blank attempt.
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Carlson made one fake, then shot high, but New York goalie Drew Adams (19 saves) guessed right and stuffed the shot from the doorstep with 16 seconds remaining.
New York faceoff midfielder Greg Gurenlian 
earned his 20th win of the game to begin overtime and that proved decisive. The Lizards got the ball to midfielder Dave Lawson, who dodged to the middle of the field and fired a bounce shot that scooted past Phipps.
“After that first five minutes, I thought our defense really buckled down and did a great job against a high-scoring team. Offensively, we played pretty well even though we had a few chances we didn’t finish. Overall, it was a great effort. We just have to make a few more plays,” Reese said. “It’s a bummer because we were just a few plays from feeling a lot different in this locker room.”
Phipps was nothing short of spectacular at times, making seven saves during the third quarter to help the Bayhawks maintain the lead. Phipps, who coached his Archbishop Spalding boys’ lacrosse team in a game played Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, stopped five more shots in the fourth quarter.
“Brian really did keep us in the game. We were getting a little tired on defense in the second half and gave up some shots, but he made some huge saves,” Reese said. “If he doesn’t make some of those big saves in the second half, it’s not even a game at the end.”
Lewnes, a rookie out of UMBC, looked good during training camp and continued to perform at a high level in the opener. The left-handed shooter flashed a hard crank shot and hustled to scoop four ground balls.
“We saw tonight what he’s been doing in practice,” Reese said of Lewnes. “He’s probably frustrated that he hit that pipe at the end, but he’s going to be a great finisher in this league. We want him to keep shooting.”
Indeed, Lewnes was disappointed that he hit a pipe then missed wide on a subsequent crank shot during one possession late in regulation. “I had some opportunities down the stretch that I didn’t convert,” he said.
Gurenlian holds the MLL career record for faceoff wins, capturing 20 of 31. However, Chesapeake specialist Charlie Raffa challenged Gurenlian and wound up winning 10 draws.
“I thought Charlie Raffa really battled at the faceoff X,” Reese said. “Obviously, Greg is one of the best in the league, but I thought Charlie did a good job of fighting and making it a three-on-three ground ball.”
The Bayhawks had a couple new parts on close defense and Reese was pleased with how that unit played against a Lizards squad led by attackmen Matt Gibson (four goals) and Rob Pannell (two goals, three assists) and midfielder Paul Rabil (two goals, two assists). Jesse Bernhardt, the third starter on close defense, had four ground balls and three caused turnovers.
“I thought Will Koshansky played great on the defensive end and I thought Joe Cinosky did a real good job on Rob Pannell,” Reese said. “New York’s star players weren’t able to take over the game.”
Reese also reserved praise for Bertrams, a short stick defensive middie who did a superb job of clearing the ball. “I thought Matt Bertrams brought a lot of speed and energy to the field tonight. He scored a couple goals in transition, which is what he does really well,” Reese said.
After falling behind 3-0 early, the Bayhawks stormed back to take a 6-5 lead late in the first quarter. Lewnes scored two goals while Thul totaled a goal and assist during the period, which ended in a 6-6 tie.
Bertrams scored Chesapeake’s first goal of the 2017 season, finishing a fast break off a feed from defenseman Jesse Bernhardt. That started a 6-2 run by the Bayhawks, who tightened up defensively after some initial breakdowns.
Lewnes scored his first professional goal by cutting to the crease and finishing a nice inside dish from Kevin Cooper. Carlson scored unassisted off a rebound while Thul tallied unassisted off a strong dodge.
Chesapeake scored just 13 seconds later with long stick defensive midfielder C.J. Costabile 
using a wicked stick fake to beat a defender and fire in a shot directly off the faceoff. Short sticker Mark Glicini scooped a tough ground ball and fed ahead to Costabile to create the goal that tied the score at 5-5 with 5:44 remaining in the first quarter.
Lewnes then took a pass from Thul and blasted a sidearm crank shot from the right wing to give the Bayhawks their first lead of the game, 6-5 at the 4:09 mark.
New York midfielder Tyler German, who spent last season with Chesapeake, was flagged for an illegal stick in-between periods and was hit with a three-minute, non-releasable penalty. The Bayhawks did not take full advantage of the extended extra man opportunity, scoring just one goal. Cooper used a quick-stick to put home a pass from behind the cage by Carlson and that made it 7-6.
Bertrams scooped a ground ball on the defensive end and went coast-to-coast to score for the second time while midfielder Ryan Tucker netted his first goal in a Bayhawks uniform as the advantage grew to 9-7 with 3:51 left in the first half.
Jones took over in the third quarter, scoring all three Chesapeake goals with one being a 2-pointer. The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder used a nifty spin move to get loose for his first goal then scored in transition with blistering overhand crank shot.
Jones than capped his solo onslaught by rearing back and rocketing another overhand crank shot past the off-side hip of Adams to give the Bayhawks a 13-11 lead with 2:17 left in the frame.
New York scored two goals in the opening five minutes of the fourth quarter to tie the score at 13. Lewnes put Chesapeake back ahead by snagging the rebound of his own shot and scoring into an empty net.
Photo Credit: Tam Williams