Chaos Dig Deep In Come-From-Behind Win in Home Opener

Charlotte- All looked well for the Carolina Chaos for their homecoming weekend, with the PLL making its stop in Charlotte. The fans came out strong, and it looked like things were on cruise control for the home team against the California Redwoods.

That was when Redwoods rattled off six straight goals in an eight-minute span to put the Chaos in panic mode. However, Carolina Head Coach Andy Towers had his team settle in to make a second half comeback to reclaim the lead for a 12-11 victory.

What stuck out for the Chaos, was the ability to do that for the very first time for a home crowd, something the red and black used to their advantage down the stretch.

“There’s something special about coming out here for our first ever home game,” said Josh Byrne. “The fans showed out and we have some new guys, so it means a lot to us to call this our home and our city.”

The Redwoods were first to jump on top of Carolina in the first quarter, taking an early 5-2 lead. That was when the Chaos went on their largest run of the game. At the end of the Outlaws game last week, Carolina rattled off eight straight to cruise to victory. 

The run was much more steady in the second and third quarters, scoring seven straight. Three came in the second quarter to tie up the ball game at the half. The other four came from a huge boost from Jules Heningburg, who used his physical play with contact on the exact same play in a Dodge from X to score twice in less than a minute. 

Then came the Redwoods.

Rob Pannell and rookie Garrett Degnon were driving forces in the comeback from California, which was quick and powerful. Six goals in less than eight minutes had American Legion Stadium in disbelief and doubt. That run was capped off by a two-point goal from Degnon to give his team the 11-9 lead.

“Our rookies made some really great plays for us on that run and it all started from winning more of those tough ground balls,” said California Redwoods coach Nat St. Laurent. “That’s what good runs need, especially when you hit a little bit of a wall like we did.”

After going down two, Carolina quickly responded on the other end with a goal in transition. Then at the end of the half, it was Heningburg using his physicality again to get in front of the net and tie the game up at 11 with just seven seconds left in the third quarter.

The  fourth quarter was highlighted by some of the nastiest stick and body checks you’ll see at any level and that was evident in the fourth quarter boxscore seeing just one goal from Tye Kurtz midway through the period to give the chaos their final lead of the day.

Austin Kaut was once again one of the best players on the field for Carolina as he got the start in net for the injured Blaze Rioirden. He made two huge saves left that iced the win for the home team that caught the eye of his head coach Andy Towers, finishing with 16 saves.

“Austin made a huge save late that sealed it for us, and it’s just been huge having a guy like that coming in for Blaze in Albany, and he was the MVP of that game for us,” Towers said. “Our locker room is very confident in Austin and he is in my opinion one of the best goalies in the world and he would probably be a starter on any other team in the league. Today he played like that, he proves that all the time, and he’s a great teammate and a very humble person as well.”

Henningburg led the way for the Chaos with four goals while Byrne had two goals and two assists to go along with two goals and an assist from Kurtz. Kyle Jackson added two goals, including a diving one with two defenders on him. Nick Rowlett was 9-for-25 on faceoffs, an area Carolina still has to clean up a bit in. Rowlett also chipped in six ground balls.

The Chaos don’t waste any time, setting up a battle of undefeated teams with the New York Atlas on Saturday night, a matchup sure to bring fireworks.