Charlotte Hounds

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.

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
Totals 27 43 .339 Total Playoff Record 1-2
Playoff Win % = .333

Stephen Berger scored the first goal in Hounds history.


Roster

2016 Charlotte Hounds
Number Player's Name Nationality Position Height Weight College
0 Shamel Bratton United States M 6 ft 1 in 190 lb Virginia
1 Matt White United States M 5 ft 11 in 180 lb Maryland
3 Brendan Fowler United States M 6 ft 0 in 210 lb Duke
5 Stephen O'Hara United States D 6 ft 1 in 195 lb Notre Dame
6 Will Haus United States M 6 ft 1 in 185 lb Duke
7 Bryce Sneed United States M 5 ft 9 in 195 lb Wingate
8 Joe Meurer United States D 5 ft 11 in 180 lb Ohio State
9 Garrett Thul United States A 6 ft 3 in 231 lb Army
11 Joey Sankey United States A 5 ft 5 in 160 lb North Carolina
14 John Scheich United States A 6 ft 0 in 185 lb Catawba
15 Colin Dunster United States M 6 ft 1 in 185 lb Bryant
16 Terry Kimener United States M 6 ft 2 in 180 lb UMBC
19 Kevin Drew United States M 6 ft 2 in 192 lb Syracuse
20 Ryan Kilpatrick United States D 6 ft 0 in 205 lb North Carolina
21 Kevin Crowley Canada M 6 ft 4 in 200 lb Stony Brook
24 Ryan Flanagan United States D 6 ft 6 in 213 lb North Carolina
25 Charlie Cipriano United States G 5 ft 11 in 185 lb Farifield
26 John Haus United States M 6 ft 0 in 190 lb Maryland
28 Michael Ehrhardt United States D 6 ft 5 in 210 lb Maryland
29 Kevin Cunningham United States A 5 ft 11 in 165 lb Villanova
30 Alex Zomerfeld United States M 5 ft 10 in 185 lb Bryant
33 Pierce Bassett United States G 6 ft 3 in 200 lb Johns Hopkins
36 Nate Norbo United States D 6 ft 0 in 210 lb Hampden–Sydney
38 Jay Goldsmith United States A 6 ft 1 in 175 lb Lenoir–Rhyne
41 Kevin Massa United States M 5 ft 10 in 200 lb Bryant
42 Steve Ianzito United States M 6 ft 0 in 200 lb Syracuse
44 Brett Schmidt United States D 6 ft 0 in 181 lb Maryland
46 Kiel Matisz Canada M 6 ft 5 in 225 lb Robert Morris
66 Greg Watterson United States D 6 ft 2 in 220 lb Wingate
77 Henry Lobb United States D 6 ft 4 in 205 lb Duke
82 Stephen Keogh Canada A 5 ft 10 in 188 lb Syracuse

Head Coaching History

# Name Term Regular Season Playoffs
GC W L W% GC W L W%
1 Mike Cerino 20122015 52 19 37 .339 2 1 1 .500
2 Jim Stagnitta 2016 14 8 6 .571 1 0 1 .000

Award Winners

Coach of the Year

Rookie of the Year

Most Improved Player

Draft History

MLL Collegiate Draft

First Round Selections

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.