By CRAIG POTTER
Rochester drops its home opener to the Charlotte Hounds, 14-10.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Rattlers trailed 10-3 early in the third quarter to the Charlotte Hounds in their Major League Lacrosse (MLL) home opener on Thursday night before approximately 500 fans at Capelli Sport Stadium. The Hounds (1-3) won their first game of the season, 14-10, as the Rattlers dropped to 1-2.
The Rattlers pulled to within 2 goals (12-10) with 4:01 to play in the match, but a 2-goal shot by the visitors with 1:32 remaining secured the victory for Charlotte.
“We gave up a lot of transition goals but we kind of solved it but there wasn’t enough time,” said Rattlers coach Tim Soudan. “It took us a while to figure out what we were going to do offensively. We found a few things that we working.
“We put ourselves in a position to win but that 2-point goal was tough.”
Ned Crotty paced Rochester with 6 points on 2 goals and 4 assists.
“Ned played great but he can’t do everything,” Soudan said. “He’s a true leader on the field.”
Penfield native Kyle Denhoff scored a natural hat trick that cut a 6-goal deficit down to three (12-9) in the fourth quarter.
Rookie Dan Lomas contributed 2 goals and 1 assist as he signed with the Rattlers following his rookie season with the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League (NLL).
“It was a bit of an adjustment having not played outside in about a year,” Lomas said. “It’s a quick adjustment to the speed and skill level but we’ve got a great group.
Also scoring goals for the Rattlers were Kip Orban, Ty Thompson, and Matt Dunn.
The Rattlers also signed rookie midfielder Brad Gillies, a RIT graduate, from the Knighthawks.
“They both played big roles tonight,” Soudan said.
The roster is not yet at full strength as the National Lacrosse League players, including Joel White, Jordan MacIntosh, John Ranagan, Blaze Riorden, and Dhane Smith, plus some college players have not yet joined the team.
“Dhane Smith with the (Buffalo) Bandits was here working out,” said Soudan. “We haven’t had the draft yet and then we’ll have a few there.”
The Rattlers travel to Boston for a game Saturday against the Cannons.
Rochester returns home on Saturday, May 20 to take on the Florida Launch at 7:30 pm.
Links
Rochester Rattlers – rochesterrattlers.com
Videos
Dan Lomas goal – https://youtu.be/Sp8jO1jY54U
Kip Orban goal – https://youtu.be/DF54muPUrBM
Dan Lomas interview – https://youtu.be/GokWhMnMKLs
Coach Tim Soudan interview – https://youtu.be/6j7IJr3kzQ8