The dance is not over yet.
The door is still open for Baltimore (4-5) to make the playoffs, but the team will need to win its final three games, starting tonight against the Philadelphia Barrage at Villanova University at 7:30 p.m.
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The top team from the Eastern and Western Conferences of the MLL will make the playoffs on Aug. 25-27 in Los Angeles. Joining them will be the two teams in the league with the next best records.
Boston, Denver, and Philadelphia all have records of 7-2, and with two games against Philadelphia and one against Boston, Baltimore has to win the rest of its schedule and get some helpfrom the rest of the league.
“It is a situation we put ourselves in with all our losses earlier,” Bayhawks head coach Scott Hiller said. “It is cliché, but we can only focus one game at a time. With a young group like this one we can?t look too far ahead.”
The Bayhawks have history on their side against Philadelphia. The last time Baltimore lost on the road to the Barrage was in 2001 when the team was based in Bridgeport, Conn.
“I see a team with one of the best records in the league,” Hiller said of the Barrage. Philadelphia goalie Brian Dougherty is one of the best keepers in the league, according to Hiller.
“He is hard to score on and we need to get to him early,” Hiller said.
Hiller has a hot keeper on his hands as well, in Greg Havalchak. The Bayhawks? 2006 fourth-round pick had a huge performance in Saturday?s win and was named the Cascade MLL Rookie of the week, becoming the third Bayhawk to earn the honor this season.
“Coach [Hiller] had enough confidence to put me back in and I knew I had to make the most of it,” Havalchak said. “I don?t know a whole lot about Philadelphia, but on our side we know we need to win every game. The younger guys are starting to mesh and gel and we have the potential to win the last couple games and make a run for the playoffs.”
