On Saturday, I attended my first Major League Lacrosse game of the summer. Chesapeake pulled out a 16-15 victory over Boston in a game that saw a 7-0 Cannons run answered quickly with a 6-1 run by the Bayhawks.
For all the goals, saves and great defensive plays, one aspect had the biggest impact on the game–instant replay. I say that as a positive. Down 16-15 in the final seconds, Boston’s Stephen Berger made an improbable play, beginning his leap from behind the goal and from no angle, putting one past Bayhawks goalie Kip Turner (see picture below). That tied the score at 16 with less than 10 seconds remaining as we looked headed for overtime.
Not so fast.
Remember, Major League Lacrosse implemented instant replay before the 2013 season. Chesapeake coach Dave Cottle challenged the play and won the challenge as Berger’s foot was in the crease which negated the goal. The Bayhawks were given the ball and they ran out the final seconds.
Cottle explained after the game how he always saves one timeout for this reason. He had called an early timeout so instead of taking a second timeout during Boston’s 7-0 run, he saved it for a potential challenge and it certainly paid its dividends.
Sure, it would have been nice to see overtime. The drama would have been incredible and it almost felt fitting to keep playing after a game that saw just about everything including two monster runs, a two-minute penalty on Chespeake, a three-minute penalty on Boston and more. However, the most important thing is that the call was right in the end.
The MLL’s instant replay system is similar to the NFL. Each team is provided up to two challenges during regulation. If a challenge is unsuccessful, a team is charged a timeout. If the challenge is successful, then the team is not charged a timeout, and if a team attempts a challenge without a timeout, it’s assessed a delay of game penalty.
Major League Lacrosse is doing it right. The league isn’t opening up a can of worms with challenges because the scope is limited to scoring plays and specifically: (1) whether the ball had completely crossed the plane of the goal; (2) whether a goal scored should be counted as a one- or two-point goal; or (3) whether the last player in possession of the ball prior to the shot on goal had stepped in the crease prior to the ball crossing the plane of the goal.
Saturday was arguably the best example of instant replay changing the course of a game. It helped preserve a much-needed win for Chesapeake. It’s almost a shame to take away Berger’s goal after that highlight-reel effort, but again, it’s all about getting the call right.
The MLL has been a catalyst for change in so many other areas as well. The league hasn’t been worried about taking steps, sometimes drastic steps. They have been creative with their shot clock and two-point shot, most notably. Now, college lacrosse fans are clamoring for a shot clock in their game.
It appears that the college game is headed towards a shot clock (whether it’s 60 seconds, 75 seconds, 90 seconds or something else) and they can look to the MLL as proof that it works. There is significantly more scoring in Major League Lacrosse games, but strong defense and goaltending is still very prevalent. It’s not like these games are one-sided with offense.
In college lacrosse, you often see teams call a dead ball timeout. After a turnover around midfield, a coach calls timeout so his offensive midfielders aren’t stuck on the field, and to avoid quick transition. In the MLL, you can’t do that. You must be in possession to call timeout. Cottle is among those who like the rule.
When asked about things he’d like to see the college game implement, he responded: “The first thing is you must have the ball when you call timeout. With a change of possession, there isn’t a timeout to stop transition. Now (in college), if you have bad defensive middies in, you take a timeout. You need to have the ball in order to take timeout.”
It makes sense. If you just turned the ball over, being able to call timeout is a safeguard, a fallback. Let the opponent that forced the turnover have its chance in transition. While the MLL is encouraging fast play with its shot clock, the college game is almost discouraging it, with this as one example.
The college game has already been influenced by successes of Major League Lacrosse, implementing a 30-second shot clock after a stall warning prior to the 2013 season. I would beg to say the MLL’s success with the shot clock had a big reason to do with that decision and the league’s continued success will play a critical role in college lacrosse implementing a shot clock (which is a matter of when, not if).
“I know when I was a college coach, I didn’t spend a lot of time watching the MLL,” said Cottle. “Now that I’ve watched it, I think there are some rules that have stood the test of time that can really help the college game.”
Major League Lacrosse is impacting fans with its own product all while changing the game of lacrosse for the better.
