With a logjam in the Major League Lacrosse standings, two teams will get some clarity after Saturday night’s game as the 3-5 Ohio Machine travel to New York to face the 4-4 Lizards. New York is tied for third place and would be in the playoffs if it started today, but the Lizards are just one game away from being in seventh place and still have work to do.
The Machine have enjoyed a strong season despite their sub-.500 record. Loaded with young talent, Ohio leads the MLL with 106 goals scored led by Marcus Holman who was among the 31 Team USA players in Thursday night’s MLL All-Star Game. Peter Baum, a member of Team MLL, has 25 points with 21 goals and four assists while Logan Schuss has posted 23 points (18 goals, five assists) and Steele Stanwick owns 22 (three goals, 19 assists). Team USA midfielder and veteran Kyle Harrison has posted 21 points with 16 goals and five assists.
Ohio has lost some heartbreakers this season, most recently dropping a 17-16 overtime decision at Boston last weekend. The team’s other losses have come by two (at Denver), one (at Florida), two (vs. New York) and one (vs. Boston). Each of the team’s games against the Cannons ended in a 17-16 loss.
Defensively, Dana Wilber has enjoyed a breakout season, recording 24 groundballs which is tied for the team lead with faceoff middie Eric O’Brien. Brian Phipps and Scott Rodgers have split time in goal, Phipps seeing the majority of time with an 11.43 GAA and 50.4 save percentage.
Meanwhile, the Lizards return home for a second straight week after a 14-12 victory over Charlotte last Saturday. That snapped a mini two-game losing streak and helped New York improve to 3-0 at home (also an 11-10 win over Boston and 18-15 victory over Rochester).
Rob Pannell, who scored the game-winning goal for Team USA on Thursday, leads the team with 31 points on 21 goals and 10 assists. Ned Crotty, also on the U.S. National Team, has 14 points (nine goals, five assists) while Jo-Jo Marasco owns 11 (seven goals, four assists). Drew Adams has played all but 15 minutes in goal and owns an 11.96 GAA and 51.1 save percentage.
The first meeting between the two teams on May 17 was nip and tuck. After Ohio scored the first three goals, New York responded with the next three for a 3-3 deadlock after one quarter of play. The sides traded goals in the second quarter. It appeared like the Machine were pulling away with goals from O’Brien and Harrison to make it 7-5 just 1:19 into the second half, but the Lizards scored four in a row, all in a 3:07 span. That proved too much for the Machine to overcome.
Tommy Palasek was the story offensively for the Lizards, scoring four goals to earn Game MVP honors. Baum and Tom Schreiber each recorded three for Ohio, Schreiber’s first professional hat trick. Adams made 12 saves, allowing just nine goals.
With extremely bunched standings (five teams just one game apart), every game will prove crucial and games like this could mean the difference in who makes the playoffs and who doesn’t come August.
