2012 wasn’t what Coach Garber and the Ohio Machine were looking for. However, it was looked over since the team is in their first year and players are just learning how to play with each other.
Going 2-12 will make anyone agitated, but for the Machine fans, they stuck through the highs and the lows and showed their support. Not many fans would do that. Luckily for the Ohio fans, the team can only improve from here.
Ohio was showing improvement when they added their rookies into the mix. Stanwick and Cummings mixed right in with Woodson and Connolly at attack. While Marshall Burkhart helped out big time at the defensive short stick position.
Offensively, the Machine have great players with Woodson, Stanwick and Connolly at attack. This moved Cummings and Martin to midfield, helping Garber and Casey out, taking pressure off them and applying it all around the field.
Adding to their arsenal, the Machine have acquired midfielder Roy Lang from the Rattlers and the 11th overall pick in the 2013 draft. In exchange, they sent midfielder Dan Groot along with the 17, 20, and 38 overall picks to Rochester.
Lang allows Ohio to become a bigger threat transitionally. Kyle Hartzell was a huge concern for teams in transition last season, as he was fifth on the Machines points list with 21 points (11G, 1A) and first for the team with nine 2pt goals. Roy tallied 17 points for the Rattlers last season with 14 goals and 3 assists.
Looking at the Machines protected roster, they decided to save both Phipps and Schroder. This is not a bad move as both goalies have played well. They may want to think about acquiring another goalie because of Phipps’ coaching duties in case Schroder gets injured.
What Ohio needs to focus on is their defense. There were too many times last year where they would throw the ball away in transition, get caught ball watching, and not slide. A large factor from their defense is now no longer in the league as Brett Hughes retired this off season and does not help their situation. Team defense should be their focal point going into 2013.
The Machine started out in games looking spectacular and ended games staggering. They need to keep that momentum throughout the entire game, not just show up in the first half.
In January, Graber’s Machine have the number one overall pick, followed by 11, 12, 13, 33, 41, 49, and 57. There’s many choices as to who will go number one overall, my guess would be Peter Baum from Colgate. He would add a lot of ammunition to the Machine’s already stocked artillery. Although, with Ohio’s complications on defense, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them snag Maryland’s Jesse Bernhardt or Loyola’s Scott Ratliff. They would help out on defense and support Hartzell at the LSM position. Whoever goes number one will be a big help to Ohio.
Who do you think will go number one? Let us hear your opinion!
