Charlotte Hounds
|
Team logo | |
| League | MLL |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 |
| Home stadium | American Legion Memorial Stadium |
| Based in | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Colors |
Royal Blue, Tan, Navy Blue, White |
| Head coach | Jim Stagnitta |
| General manager | Mike Cerino |
| Mascot | Blue the Plott Hound |
| Steinfeld Cups | None |
| Website | charlottehounds.com |
The Charlotte Hounds are a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse franchise that began play in the 2012 MLL season.[1] The team's home games are played at American Legion Memorial Stadium.[1]
Franchise history
In January 2011 the MLL voted to grant expansion franchise to Charlotte and Columbus, Ohio for the 2012 MLL Season.[1][2] The team is headed by Jim McPhilliamy, a former Charlotte Bobcats marketing executive.[3] The team names had been narrowed down to the Hounds, Legion, and Monarchs with the Hounds eventually winning the fan vote by a mere 21 votes over the Legion. The Name the Team Campaign was heavily supported by OrthoCarolina, the official team physician of the Hounds, and was heavily run via Facebook. First, fans pitched in ideas for the team name and location identity (Charlotte, Carolina, Queen City, etc.) Then, fans voted on the location ID, choosing Charlotte easily over Carolina. The next stage was mostly on the team staff, in choosing 6 finalists for team names and logo prototypes. Fans then voted on those, narrowing it down to the final three, Hounds, Legion, and Monarchs. A final vote was held, and Hounds won. On June 21, 2011 the team name was announced to be the Charlotte Hounds and their colors to be navy blue and tan. On September 29, 2011 the team announced the hiring of head coach Mike Cerino. On February 10, 2012, the team announced the hiring of assistant coaches J.B. Clarke, Chris Phenicie, and Brad Touma.
The Hounds announced on February 7, 2012 that they had signed a landmark deal with WMYT (MyTV12) Charlotte to broadcast 7 of the 14 scheduled games. The TV broadcasts will alternate with the Radio games on WFNZ, with the exception of the home opener and season finale, which will be covered by both stations. WFNZ will air all home games, while WMYT will broadcast the away games as well as the home opener and season finale. The local TV deal with WMYT is the first of its kind in major league lacrosse, as WMYT will be the only local broadcast station in the nation to offer Major League Lacrosse Broadcasts.[4]
On May 12, 2012 the Charlotte Hounds beat the Ohio Machine 18-15 at American Legion Memorial Stadium to earn their first win in franchise history.
2013: Quick start
On August 3, 2013, the Charlotte Hounds clinched a playoff spot in just their second season after defeating the Hamilton Nationals, 14-11.[5] On August 24 in the semifinals, Charlotte defeated top seed Denver, 17-14 for their first playoff win and championship berth in team history.[6] Before that, the Denver Outlaws were the first team in league history to complete a perfect 14-0 regular season. On August 25, the Hounds took on the Chesapeake Bayhawks in the Steinfeld Cup. The Hounds lost 10-9 to the Bayhawks, who won their league-record fifth championship.
2014-15: Team struggles
The Hounds struggled out of the gate in 2014 starting 1-4. But on June 7, the Hounds defeated the Outlaws again, 18-15 at home. The loss for Denver snapped a 25 regular season game win streak for the Outlaws.[7] Charlotte would finish 4-10 in 2014 for the worst record in the team's three-year history. Things didn't get better in 2015, the Hounds actually posted a worse record: 3-11, the worst record in 2015.
Road to recovery
Before the 2016 season, the Hounds announced head coach Mike Cerino would take more of a front office role for the team. Jim Stagnitta was announced as the team's new head coach. The Hounds would also benefit from starting the year out with three straight home games against the Boston Cannons, Rochester Rattlers, and Florida Launch. As a result, the team got off to a 3-0 start for the first time in franchise history.
On August 6, the Hounds came back from an 11-6 deficit to defeat the Chesapeake Bayhawks, 15-13 to clinch not only their second playoff berth in franchise history, but their first winning record in franchise history at 8-6. On August 13 in Minnesota, the Hounds' season would be ended after a 16-10 loss to the top-seeded Ohio Machine.
In 2017, things would hit a speed bump. The Hounds would get off to an 0-3 start thanks to two meetings with the defending champion Outlaws. Despite being able to win five of their next eight and put themselves in the top four in the league, the Hounds were not able to finish the season strong. Charlotte posted a 6-8 record in their 2017 campaign, finishing in seventh place. One highlight from the year including drafting of Maryland attackman Matt Rambo, who led the Terrapins to their first NCAA championship since 1975 and won the 2017 Tewaaraton Award.[8]
Season-by-season
| Charlotte Hounds | |||||
| Year | W | L | % | Regular season finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 5 | 9 | .357 | 6th in League | Didn't Qualify |
| 2013 | 7 | 7 | .500 | 4th in League | Won semifinal 17-14 over Denver Outlaws Lost championship 10-9 to Chesapeake Bayhawks |
| 2014 | 4 | 10 | .286 | 8th in League | Didn't Qualify |
| 2015 | 3 | 11 | .273 | 8th in League | Didn't Qualify |
| 2016 | 8 | 6 | .571 | 4th in League | Lost semifinal 16-10 to Ohio Machine |
| 2017 | 6 | 8 | .429 | 7th in League | Didn't Qualify |
| Totals | 33 | 51 | .393 | Total Playoff Record 1-2 Playoff Win % = .333 | |
Stephen Berger scored the first goal in Hounds history.
- 2012 Charlotte Hounds season
- 2013 Charlotte Hounds season
- 2014 Charlotte Hounds season
- 2015 Charlotte Hounds season
Roster
| 2016 Charlotte Hounds | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player's Name | Nationality | Position | Height | Weight | College |
| 0 | Shamel Bratton |  | M | 6 ft 1 in | 190 lb | Virginia |
| 1 | Matt White | | M | 5 ft 11 in | 180 lb | Maryland |
| 3 | Brendan Fowler | | M | 6 ft 0 in | 210 lb | Duke |
| 5 | Stephen O'Hara | | D | 6 ft 1 in | 195 lb | Notre Dame |
| 6 | Will Haus | | M | 6 ft 1 in | 185 lb | Duke |
| 7 | Bryce Sneed | | M | 5 ft 9 in | 195 lb | Wingate |
| 8 | Joe Meurer | | D | 5 ft 11 in | 180 lb | Ohio State |
| 9 | Garrett Thul | | A | 6 ft 3 in | 231 lb | Army |
| 11 | Joey Sankey | | A | 5 ft 5 in | 160 lb | North Carolina |
| 14 | John Scheich | | A | 6 ft 0 in | 185 lb | Catawba |
| 15 | Colin Dunster | | M | 6 ft 1 in | 185 lb | Bryant |
| 16 | Terry Kimener | | M | 6 ft 2 in | 180 lb | UMBC |
| 19 | Kevin Drew | | M | 6 ft 2 in | 192 lb | Syracuse |
| 20 | Ryan Kilpatrick | | D | 6 ft 0 in | 205 lb | North Carolina |
| 21 | Kevin Crowley |  | M | 6 ft 4 in | 200 lb | Stony Brook |
| 22 | Joe McCallion | | M | 5 ft 11 in | 200 lb | Penn |
| 24 | Ryan Flanagan | | D | 6 ft 6 in | 213 lb | North Carolina |
| 25 | Charlie Cipriano | | G | 5 ft 11 in | 185 lb | Farifield |
| 26 | John Haus | | M | 6 ft 0 in | 190 lb | Maryland |
| 28 | Michael Ehrhardt | | D | 6 ft 5 in | 210 lb | Maryland |
| 29 | Kevin Cunningham | | A | 5 ft 11 in | 165 lb | Villanova |
| 30 | Alex Zomerfeld | | M | 5 ft 10 in | 185 lb | Bryant |
| 33 | Pierce Bassett | | G | 6 ft 3 in | 200 lb | Johns Hopkins |
| 36 | Nate Norbo | | D | 6 ft 0 in | 210 lb | Hampden–Sydney |
| 38 | Jay Goldsmith | | A | 6 ft 1 in | 175 lb | Lenoir–Rhyne |
| 41 | Kevin Massa | | M | 5 ft 10 in | 200 lb | Bryant |
| 42 | Steve Ianzito | | M | 6 ft 0 in | 200 lb | Syracuse |
| 44 | Brett Schmidt | | D | 6 ft 0 in | 181 lb | Maryland |
| 46 | Kiel Matisz | | M | 6 ft 5 in | 225 lb | Robert Morris |
| 66 | Greg Watterson | | D | 6 ft 2 in | 220 lb | Wingate |
| 77 | Henry Lobb | | D | 6 ft 4 in | 205 lb | Duke |
| 82 | Stephen Keogh | | A | 5 ft 10 in | 188 lb | Syracuse |
- updated 2016-05-17
Head Coaching History
| # | Name | Term | Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | W% | GC | W | L | W% | |||
| 1 | Mike Cerino | 2012–2015 | 52 | 19 | 37 | .339 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| 2 | Jim Stagnitta | 2016– | 28 | 14 | 14 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Award Winners
Coach of the Year
- Jim Stagnitta: 2016
Rookie of the Year
- Joey Sankey: 2015
Most Improved Player
- Mike Chanenchuk: 2016
Draft History
MLL Collegiate Draft
First Round Selections
- 2013: Tucker Durkin, Johns Hopkins (3rd overall); Mike Sawyer, Loyola (8th overall) [9]
- 2014: Michael Ehrhardt, Maryland (7th overall) [10]
- 2015: Will Haus, Duke (3rd overall)
- 2016: Dylan Donahue, Syracuse (2nd overall), Ryan Brown, Johns Hopkins (4th overall) [11]
- 2017: Matt Rambo, Maryland (3rd overall)
References
- 1 2 3 Babo, Zach (January 21, 2011). "MLL Expanding to Charlotte, Columbus for 2012 Season". Inside Lacrosse.
- ↑ McLean, Derek (January 21, 2011). "Major League Lacrosse To Add Two New Franchises in 2012". Major League Lacrosse. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
- ↑ Scott, David (January 24, 2011). "Charlotte getting a pro lacrosse team". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
- ↑ http://charlottehounds.com/press-release/4491/wmyt-mytv12-to-broadcast-charlotte-hounds-games/
- ↑ Hounds punch ticket to postseason with 14-11 win over Nationals
- ↑ Hounds stun Outlaws in Semifinals, 17-14
- ↑ Charlotte 18, Denver 15
- ↑ 2017 Draft summary
- ↑ http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/news/6531/2013-collegiate-draft-results/
- ↑ http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/news/8798/2014-collegiate-draft-results/
- ↑ http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/press-release/12859/2016-mll-collegiate-draft-live-updates/
