What a finale to the regular season of Major League Lacrosse! The idea to have all of the final games on Saturday evening was a great move as all the drama unfolded at the same time watching Ohio, Rochester, and Boston fight for the final home playoff game.
First, happy trails to Denver goalie Jesse Schwartzman, Chesapeake head coach Dave Cottle, and possibly the legend Casey Powell. Schwartzman announced his retirement after Denver defeated New York leaving the MLL first all-time in games played and wins as a goalie, as well as first all-time in goals against average. Cottle was only in the league for a short time, but he won two titles with the Bayhawks and will remain the team president. Powell hinted Saturday may have been his last game although he has not decided yet. If he does hang up his stick, he will retire as the all-time leading scorer and arguably the greatest to ever play in the league.
Next, lets make some predictions on who will take home some hardware this week.
Rookie of the Year: Lyle Thompson, Florida. It took Thompson a few games to get into a groove and once he did, he proved to not only being the best rookie in the MLL, but he is already one of the most difficult players to defend.
Coach of the Year: John Tucker, Boston. No coach achieved more with less.
Most Improved Player: Davey Emala, Boston. Lost in the shuffle last season in Charlotte, Emala got a shot with the Cannons and erupted as one of the brightest young talents around.
Goalie of the Year: Tyler Fiorito, Chesapeake. He did not have the best stats, but he stepped into the starting role and kept the Bayhawks in a lot of games with his athletic saves.
Defensive of the Year: Scott Ratliff, Boston. Ratliff played solid defense, was strong in transition, and dangerous on the offensive end.
FOGO of the Year: Greg Gurenlian, New York. His last two weeks were not great, but The Beast has no competition when it comes to the best FOGO in the MLL.
Offensive of the Year: Kieran McArdle, Florida. If Florida made the playoffs, McArdle would have been the MVP. He is the most underrated player in the league.
MVP: Tom Schreiber, Ohio. I had Rabil in this spot until Saturday night. Ohio is playing the best lacrosse right now and Schreiber has been as valuable as anyone in leading his team into the playoffs. He quietly led the Machine in points, goals, and assists.
Now it is time to break down the playoff games. Ohio will host Rochester at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Machine are the hottest team in the league right now and feature the best midfield unit in the MLL. Marcus Holman and Steele Stanwick have been a lethal 1-2 punch down low at attack as well. Rochester has been tinkering with their lineup the last few weeks trying to find an offensive rotation that will give opponents nightmares. The trio of Jordan Wolf, Kevin Rice, and Mark Matthews has been the most productive. This would push Jeremy Boltus to come out of the box which presents a lot of matchup problems at midfield. The Machine defense has improve tremendously since the beginning of the season. They also have been stronger at the X and Brian Phipps has been more consistent than Rochester’s John Galloway. Prediction: Ohio 16 Rochester 13.
New York will host Boston at 6:30 p.m. Everyone handed the Lizards the title after they jumped out to an 8-0 start simply dominating anyone who got in their way. Since then, New York has been very pedestrian finishing the season losing four of their last six. They have looked tired and the one team that played them tough during those first eight games was Boston as the Cannons lost by one and three respectively in early May. Brodie Merrill returned to the Cannons after those games, Josh Hawkins has been productive at middie since he was traded from Charlotte, and the rookies Ryan Tucker, Wells Stanwick, and John Glesener have provided an added boost to the offense. If Boston can be 40% at the X which is not great, but doable seen as Greg Gurenlian has struggled the last two weeks, New York is ripe for the upset. Prediction: Boston 14 New York 12.
Week 14 Game Balls
Kieran McArdle, Florida: McArdle had four goals and three assists as the Launch spoiled any hopes of Rochester trying to get a home playoff game.
Joe Walters, Chesapeake: The MVP of the second half of the season finished with two goals and five assists to send head coach Dave Cottle out with a win.
Steele Stanwick, Ohio: Stanwick went for four goals and four assists to help secure the #2 seed. He assisted on the game tying goal and scored the game winner with less than 90 seconds left.
Brent Hiken, Denver: After releasing Anthony Kelly, Denver gave the nod to the seldom used FOGO and he had a big night vs. Greg Gurenlian going 16-30 at the X.
Week 15 MLL Top 8
1- New York (10-4). Limped to the finish line going 2-4 down the stretch.
2- Ohio (9-5). Hottest team going into the playoffs.
3-Rochester (8-6). Can the defense step in the playoffs?
4- Boston (8-6). The team no one expected is going to the playoffs with house money. That’s dangerous!
5- Chesapeake (6-8). So many close losses doomed a playoff caliber team.
6- Denver (7-7). Sent their All-Star goalie out on a positive not.
7- Florida (5-9). Can play spoiler this weekend if their defense shows up.
8- Charlotte (3-11). The Hounds will have the #1 overall pick in the 2016 draft.
Brendan McDaniels is a color analyst for the MLL Television broadcasts. Follow Brendan on Twitter @BMcDTWCSports.
