What a difference a year makes! After posting the worst record in the MLL and having the worst offense in the league by a wide margin, the Ohio Machine are just one game back behind from being at MLL Championship Weekend. With a big 16-14 win over the defending MLL Champion Chesapeake Bayhawks, the Machine have a real shot at making it to the dance at the end of the year. For a team that was 2-12 last season, the turnaround has been special as they stand at 4-6 heading into the third and final break of the MLL season.
When talking about this year’s Machine, you have to start with the offense. After posting 130 goals last year, the Machine have exlipsed that mark already with four more games remaining. As it stands right now, they lead the league with 134 goals scored on the season which ranks them ahead of the Denver Outlaws by one goal.
The key to the offensive overhaul has been the player acquisition thanks to the MLL/LXM Pro merger as well as the MLL Draft. The Machine’s midfield has added Kyle Harrison, 2013 No. 1 overall pick Peter Baum and 2014 No.1 overall pick Tommy Schreiber and the three of them have combined for 75 so far this season! Baum is tied for the team lead in points with 33 points and is second in the MLL in goals scored with 28. That ranks him one goal behind Eric Law for the league lead. Harrison and Schreiber have been no slouches though as they have added 26 and 16 points respectively.
Meanwhile, the attack has continued to grow behind second year pros Logan Schuss and Marcus Holman as well as MLL All-Star Steele Stanwick. Together, the three of them have combined for 71 points! Holman is tied with Baum for the team lead in points and he is tied for sixth in the league in goals with 22. Meanwhile, Schuss has 25 points and Stanwick comes in with 23. Stanwick, amazingly has been the quintessential quarterback for this team as he has 20 assists so far this season! That ranks him third in the MLL behind Casey Powell and Paul Rabil.
Not to be corny here but the offense is truly a well oiled machine. With such balance on both the attack and midfield units, opposing defenses are finding it hard to key in on a weakness and exploit it. Stanwick has multiple options to feed and Schreiber, Baum, Harrison and Holman are all capable of stretching opposing defenses with their shots. Finally, Schuss is one of the best finishers in the game from in close.
Defenisvely, the team needs to improve heading into the final quarter of the season. They have allowed 130 goals which ranks second to last in the MLL. Their offense can win them games but their defense will be the key to their success if they hope to make a playoff push. Last season, the Machine ranked in the exact same spot by allowing 181 goals.
While Dana Wilber, Brian Farrell, Max Schmidt and Chad Wiedmaier have all been solid at the long pole position, Brian Phipps has struggled in net and ranks as one of the worst goalies across the board in terms of GAA, save percentage and number of saves. Phipps will have to pick it up after the break otherwise the team may need to take a longer look at Scott Rodgers.
To end the season, the Machine will play Charlotte, Denver, Rochester and Florida. All four game have playoff implications as Florida and Charlotte have an indentical record to the Machine and Denver and Rochester are currently ranked as the top two seeds if championship weekend started today.
While the Machine have the offense to make it to MLL Championship Weekend, the defense will be the thing to watch if they have any hope of making the playoffs and completing a surprising turnaround.
