Game of the Year #11 Bayhawks vs Cannons

I wrote about this matchup intensely leading up to the MLL semi-final between the Boston Cannons and Chesapeake Bayhawks. The Cannons were the best team in the league, with the MVP and goaltender of the year. The Bayhawks were the last seed in the playoffs and they barely snuck in with a winning record. I wrote at the time the only chance the Bayhawks had of beating Boston was if goaltender Chris Garritty stood on his head.
.... He did. Here is your 11th game of the year, the Bayhawks and the Cannons!
The Cannons came out firing in this win, winning the opening faceoff and scoring almost immediately. Max Quinzani, the rookie from Duke, scored the first goal of the game.
But Chesapeake came back moments later, when Bugs Combs scored a goal standing right in front of the crease and beating the goaltender of the year Kip Turner. Kevin Buchanan took the lead with his goal for Boston, but it would be their last lead of the game.
That is when the Bayhawks got hot, scoring five straight goals. The first of his three came from Ben Hunt, with his two pointer to give the Bayhawks a quick lead in the first quarter. After that Jeff Reynolds let one go inside the two point line, making it 4-2 Bayhawks after one quarter. Garrity played on his head that period, absolutely shutting down the Cannons.
The Cannons are a good defensive team, but they are mostly a running defensive team. Unless they score, they did not have much of a shot.
In the starting seconds of the second quarter Hunt strikes again, making it a 5-2 lead. Hunt also scored the next goal. The Cannons were having complete defensive breakdowns.
The last goal of their streak came from Jed Prossner beating Turner high. I was wondering why Turner wasn't pulled right there, when they have a good backup in Burke. But Boston stuck with the goaltender of the year, and eventually scored.
After a bad offensive sequence, Boston gets the ball and Buchanan makes them pay, slimming the lead to 7-3. But about one minute later that changed with Combs' goal.
Chesapeake would score two more times to make it 10-3 going into the half. I imagine the Cannons were stunned, but the Bayhawks really game planned for this one good.
The Bayhawks came out firing again, scoring twice sandwiching a Buchanan goal. Boston began their mini-comeback, scoring three straight goals to make it 12-7. That is when Kip Turner was pulled for Jordon Burke.
Into the fourth quarter, Ryan Boyle got a two point shot to make it 12-9. Burke did a terrific job, but Chesapeake scored one more to make it 13-9 which was the final. Boston had a few more possessions with chances to score, but could not, completing one of the biggest upsets in lacrosse this year.

Media Coverage:
Inside lacrosse
The Lacrosse Blog