MLL PREVIEW
1. Chesapeake Bayhawks 2013 Record: 9-5 MLL champion
Coach: Dave Cottle 3rd season
2. Denver Outlaws
2013 Record: 14-0 Semifinalist
Coach: B.J. O’Hara 1st season
Ben Hunt Jeremy Sieverts Kevin Buchanan
3. Boston Cannons 2013 Record: 5-9
Coach: John Tucker 2nd season
4. Charlotte Hounds 2013 Record: 7-7 MLL finalist
Coach: Mike Cerino 3rd season
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Ryan Young C
CHESAPEAKE BAYHAWKS
MVP CANDIDATE Brendan Mundorf Nagging injuries limited Mundorf to just 11 games last year but the 2012 MVP still managed to tie for 10th in the league with 41 points. “I’ve played with Brendan for a number of years,” said Chesapeake attackman Drew Westervelt, a fellow UMBC alum and teammate with the Philadelphia Wings. “He’s a terrific player. He’s going to compliment our offense very well.”
NEW ARRIVALS Matt Harris, Brian Megill, Brendan Mundorf, Stephen Peyser, Peet Poillon, Joe Walters The Bayhawks flipped John
Grant Jr. and Casey Powell for Mundorf and Walters, two players close in talent level and much younger. Adding Harris and Megill gives the team some strength and youth behind aging defenders Brian Spallina and Nicky Polanco. Peyser was under the radar, but because of his ability to face off, could be the most impactful addition.
66 LACROSSE MAGAZINE May 2014>>
No franchise has won more MLL championships (five) than the Bayhawks. Chesapeake has won two straight titles — something only the now-defunct Philadelphia Barrage had previously done — and in 2014 could be the first team in league history to three-peat.
ENEMY LINES “They’re lifting the level of play in the MLL. It’s not just that they’re good. They’re forcing everybody else to get better. They’re the class of the MLL… They’ve got the best player in the game right now playing for them. Matt Abbott does it all. They’ve won the championship the past two years. They’ve got big strong middies, tough defensemen and they play as a team and peak at the right times. … Chesapeake has the most talented roster in the league.”
hesapeake does not think about making history, however. “The worst thing we can do is worry about a championship,”
Bayhawks attackman Drew Westervelt said. “We’re looking at establishing chemistry in our locker room. If we can continue the chemistry we’ve had the past couple years, we’ll be in a place to be a really tough opponent.” Coach Dave Cottle said his main focus isn’t on winning one single game or looking ahead to championships. “We’re going to have good days and bad days,” Cottle said. “If we can focus on our weaknesses, the results will take care of them self. When results become the focus you lose focus on getting better every week.” Don’t mistake them for not caring about winning games, however. The Bayhawks acquired players this offseason that will not only help them win this year, but for several seasons. With 2012 MLL MVP Brendan Mundorf and perennial all-stars Joe Walters and Peet Poillon among the new arrivals, the rich just got richer.
“We’ve done a good job in the offseason of trying to get a hair younger and on both the defense and offense,” Cottle said, “but also trying to find known commodities that we thought had tremendous value.”
Given their talent-rich roster, the Bayhawks sometimes will bench star players due to the MLL’s game-day salary cap restrictions. It can complicate things, but Cottle chooses to look at the positives.
“If they make sacrifices and know it’s their turn to sit, they can get healthy and reenergize their batteries, and in the long run it’s going to wind up helping us,” he said.
— Phil Shore A Publication of US Lacrosse
©KEVIN P. TUCKER (BH, JS); ©JOHN STROHSACKER (KB); ©PEYTON WILLIAMS (RY)
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