Machine falls behind early, drops game to Hounds

Hounds Machine

Ohio’s Schreiber records three goals in loss 14 10

Forced to work from behind from start to finish, the Ohio Machine battled back from an early threescore deficit, but a late second- half charge proved not enough as the visiting Charlotte Hounds held on to win 14- 10 at Fortress Obetz Stadium on Saturday. “The effort was there, which is a good thing. Throughout the game I think we did some good work responding, and then it just wasn’t enough toward the end.”

The Hounds' Matt Rambo, who was named game MVP, recorded three goals in the victory. Ohio’s Tom Schreiber also finished with three goals.

“The ground balls, faceoffs and our defense really helped us, and then on offense we held it and found our matchups and weren’t selfish,” Rambo said.

The Hounds managed to sneak by with a win despite playing Thursday’s game against Chesapeake short- handed, and they secured the victory Saturday night on just two days’ rest.

“We have a lot of college coaches on our team, and it has been a struggle to put a consistent lineup together,” Charlotte coach Joe Stagnitta said.

“We’ve had guys step up and make plays for us.”

Stagnitta said the Hounds were tired and sloppy in their decisionmaking at times, but they still managed to stave off the Machine’s comeback.

“The effort was there, which is a good thing,” Schreiber said of the Machine’s performance. “Throughout the game I think we did some good work responding, and then it just wasn’t enough toward the end.”

The Machine trailed throughout most of the game but kept it close and hung on as long as they could, even taking a 10- 9 lead early in the fourth quarter.

But the defense broke down midway through the final stanza, and Columbus lost its grip.

“We controlled the middle of the field, and I think it showed on the offensive end,” Stagnitta said.

Charlotte ( 4- 0) jumped on the Machine from the start of the first quarter, forging a 3- 0 lead.

Connor Cannizzaro provided the Machine their first lead of the game, netting his second goal just a minute into the fourth quarter, but the Hounds answered with two goals of their own to go back on top. Down a man in a crucial situation, goalie Kyle Bernlohr made a great stop despite Charlotte’s powerplay advantage, but a body check jarred the ball loose, resulting in a quick turnaround goal by Ryan Brown that iced the game.

The Machine ( 1- 1) will host Dallas on Saturday.