# 2018 Charlotte Hounds season

The 2018 Charlotte Hounds season was the seventh season for the Charlotte Hounds of Major League Lacrosse. The Hounds started the season 4-0 for the first time in franchise history, highlighted by a 25-7 Week 1 mauling over the Boston Cannons and two victories over the defending champion Ohio Machine. However, the Hounds struggled to the finish line, finishing at 7-7 and being eliminated from the playoffs in the penultimate week of the regular season.
For the second season in a row, the Hounds finished last in attendance at 1,364 fans a game. In 2017, the Hounds posted the league's worst attendance for the first time in franchise history at just under 1,600 a game. This is a drop from their peak in their inaugural 2012 season in which they averaged over 5,700 fans a game.

## Offseason

* October 12, 2017 - The Hounds agreed to trade Brendan Fowler to the New York Lizards in exchange for midfielder Jake Richard and a second round pick in the 2018 collegiate draft.
* December 19 - A $32 million renovation project of American Legion Memorial Stadium was approved by the county.

## Regular season

* May 31 - The Hounds agree to give up a 2019 collegiate draft second round pick to the Atlanta Blaze in exchange for faceoff specialist Jake Withers.
* June 19 - Hounds defenseman Ben Randall is traded from Charlotte to the Ohio Machine in exchange for defender Matt McMahon.

## Schedule
### Regular season

| Date | Opponent | Stadium | Result | Attendance | Record |
| April 21 | Boston Cannons | American Legion Memorial Stadium | W 25-7 | 1,346 | 1-0 |
| April 27 | Dallas Rattlers | American Legion Memorial Stadium | W 13-12 | 1,287 | 2-0 |
| May 3 | Chesapeake Bayhawks | American Legion Memorial Stadium | W 14-13 | 1,059 | 3-0 |
| May 5 | at Ohio Machine | Fortress Obetz | W 14-10 | 2,478 | 4-0 |
| May 19 | at Denver Outlaws | Sports Authority Field at Mile High | L 13-17 | 2,665 | 4-1 |
| May 26 | Ohio Machine | American Legion Memorial Stadium | W 14-12 | 1,267 | 5-1 |
| June 2 | Denver Outlaws | American Legion Memorial Stadium | L 13-16 | 1,469 | 5-2 |
| June 9 | at Atlanta Blaze | Fifth Third Bank Stadium | W 19-13 | 1,481 | 6-2 |
| June 16 | at New York Lizards | James M. Shuart Stadium | L 16-20 | 5,319 | 6-3 |
| June 23 | Florida Launch | American Legion Memorial Stadium | L 17-21 | 1,975 | 6-4 |
| June 30 | Atlanta Blaze | MUSC Health Stadium (Charleston, SC) | L 10-16 | 1,145 | 6-5 |
| July 7 | at Dallas Rattlers | The Ford Center at The Star | L 9-14 | 4,671 | 6-6 |
| July 21 | at Chesapeake Bayhawks | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | W 20-10 | 2,544 | 7-6 |
| July 28 | at Boston Cannons | Harvard Stadium | L 7-14 | 4,384 | 7-7 |

## Standings

2018 Major League Lacrosse Standings :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | PCT | GB | GF | 2ptGF | GA | 2ptGA |
| Dallas Rattlers | 11 | 3 | .786 | - | 201 | 8 | 175 | 2 |
| Chesapeake Bayhawks | 9 | 5 | .643 | 2 | 176 | 11 | 174 | 7 |
| Denver Outlaws | 8 | 6 | .571 | 3 | 225 | 5 | 183 | 14 |
| New York Lizards | 8 | 6 | .571 | 3 | 211 | 5 | 214 | 5 |
| Charlotte Hounds | 7 | 7 | .500 | 4 | 196 | 8 | 191 | 4 |
| Atlanta Blaze | 7 | 7 | .500 | 4 | 187 | 10 | 184 | 7 |
| Boston Cannons | 5 | 9 | .357 | 6 | 173 | 9 | 213 | 9 |
| Florida Launch | 5 | 9 | .357 | 6 | 192 | 4 | 201 | 10 |
| Ohio Machine | 3 | 11 | .214 | 8 | 173 | 6 | 199 | 8 |
* Playoff Seed