Cannons blast off in Annapolis | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

Morris scored a game-high four goals to anchor a high-powered offense and lead Boston to a 14-10 victory over the Washington Bayhawks Saturday night, as the Major Lacrosse League made its debut at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium before 5,972 fans.

"We came out a little slow in that first quarter, especially," Morris said. "They're a tough team. Give them credit. But we just didn't seem to get in a flow. We didn't finish our shots."

Rabil and Matt Poskay each notched hat tricks for Boston (6-3), which scored six times in the third quarter.

Matt Ward led the Bayhawks (3-6) with two goals.

Washington took a commanding lead in the first quarter, scoring three times in the first 10 minutes to keep the Cannons' defense off-balanced.

Connor Gill put the Bayhawks ahead with a left-side goal five minutes into the quarter, and Matt Ward and Hunter Lochte made it 3-0 with back-to-back goals 36 seconds apart.

"For us, it's kind of been a question of playing the whole 60 minutes," Ward said. "We've either gotten off to slow starts or quick starts. We just haven't been able to maintain and finish off those quick starts."

Rabil, drafted first overall out of Johns Hopkins in June, cut the Cannons' deficit to 3-1 with a minute left in the first. He eluded two defenders at the top of the zone, took three steps and sent an overhand shot past Washington goalkeeper Chris Garrity, who had 23 saves, to begin a 5-0 run.

"Someone had to step up," said Rabil, who shoots about 110 mph. "We started panicking a little bit. I just saw an opportunity to go through from up top, and I took it."

Tom Zummo closed the gap to one with 11:26 left in the second quarter, and Rabil tied the score at 3 with a 15-yard, overhand shot on the Cannons' next possession.

Matt Casey scored 40 seconds later to give Boston its first lead, and Matt Poskay dumped in an over-the-shoulder shot into the far side of the net as he fell to the turf for a 5-3 lead, forcing the Bayhawks to take a timeout.

The Cannons scored on four consecutive possessions in a 2-minute,

41-second span.

"It's not a sprint, it's a marathon," Boston coach Bill Daye said. "It's a lot of lacrosse to be played. We got right back into it."

Derek Cherney ended the Cannons' five-goal run with an extra-man strike, and Ward evened the score at 5 by depositing Paul Richards' swing pass across the right side of the scoring zone into the net with 58 seconds left in the half.

Boston scored nine goals in the second half to finish off the Bayhawks, likely eliminating them from postseason play.

Rabil drove a hard shot off the crossbar three minutes into the third quarter, and Matt Alrich scored on the rebound. Morris followed with a wrap-around goal to make it 7-5 with 11:11 to go in the quarter, and he struck again with a one-handed, scoop shot seven minutes later.

"Sean's a hard-working kid, and he finishes opportunities," Daye said.

Bayhawks midfielder Brendan Healey immediately answered with a goal to break up the Cannons' momentum, but Poskay got it right back.

Poskay finished a one-timer with 2:16 left in the third to begin a 4-0 run. Rabil and Sean Dougherty added goals in the last minute for a five-goal lead.

Morris completed his hat trick early in the fourth quarter for a 12-6 lead.

"In this game, runs are very big," Daye said. "You've got to be able to take them."

Cherney ended the run with a breakaway goal with 11:50 left in the fourth, and Kyle Dixon scored five minutes later to make it 12-8.

Poskay and Morris scored consecutive goals to put the Cannons back up by six with 4:34 to play.

Healey's second goal, a close shot, made it 14-9 with 4:04 remaining, and Richards cut the deficit to four with an open shot on the right side. But that's all the Bayhawks could muster.

"We came out with a lot of energy early," said Washington general manager Scott Hiller, who plans to play at least one regular-season game in Annapolis. "We had opportunities to make it 4-, 5- or 6-0, and we didn't take advantage of that. We let that team back in the game, and that's kind of the way it goes."