After two tough losses for the New York Lizards, this week still managed to shed some positive light as defensive midfielders Kevin Unterstein and Steve DeNapoli were named to the 2014 MLL All-Star Team where they will face eight of their current teammates on Team USA in Boston.
Lack of Offense:
New York dropped its last two contests officially falling under the .500 mark with an overall record of 3-4. The Lizards had its inaugural meeting against the Florida Launch but could not turn possessions into points and outsmart Florida’s defense. With a penalty-filled fourth quarter, the Launch managed to hold on to the lead en route to defeating New York 11-8.
The Lizards had another challenge last week as the team faced the Denver Outlaws who, until the week prior, were undefeated and on a 25-game streak going back to 2012. Denver trying to bounce back after its perfect record was ruined defeated the Lizards 16-11. The Outlaws dominated possessions and limited the Lizards chances. Unfortunately when the Lizards had minimal possessions, they were unable to capitalize.
All-Stars:
On the bright side, both Unterstein and DeNapoli will make their first appearance when they tag along with 22 other MLL players on the All-Star team to face the US Men’s National Team at Harvard Stadium in Boston on June 26.
Unterstein, one of three Lizard’s captains in 2013, is in his seventh MLL season and is still the Associate Head Coach of Hofstra’s Men’s Lacrosse Team under Head Coach Seth Tierney.
DeNapoli, a newbie on the Lizards, is not new to the MLL as he is currently in his fourth season after leaving the Rochester Rattlers in 2013. Besides the Lizards, the Long Island native and Hofstra alum is also the head coach at Holy Trinity High School.
The Challenge:
With two consecutive losses on its plate, 10 Lizards will play in Boston representing the United States and the All-Star team. While this could be a good mental break, or an opportunity for the team to get its confidence up, it begs the question whether or not they will be able to either bounce back or get back on a win-streak depending how this Saturday’s game against the Charlotte Hounds goes.
Maybe all the offense needs is to tighten some screws, clean up the turnovers and gain its confidence back that earned three early wins. With eight players (Drew Adams, Ned Crotty, Kyle Hartzell, Brian Karalunas, JoJo Marasco, Rob Pannell, Max Seibald and Joe Fletcher) representing their country, Lizards fans can only hope that it can bring back some of the chemistry that has looked promising so far in 2014.
Still with half of a season to go, the Lizards are not far off the track. Three other teams in the MLL (Boston, Ohio and Charlotte) are in the same position as them record-wise and the teams tied for second (Florida, Rochester) only have one more win. The penalty kill is still strong for the Lizards with just over an 87 percent success rate while the team also leads in faceoff percentage at .598.
The Lizards looks to start its journey back on the high road this Saturday as the Charlotte Hounds make the trip to Hempstead.
