It was a difficult year for the Ohio Machine last season, as the team finished with their second straight two-win season in their second year of existence. That being said, the Machine vastly improved over the course of the year and played much more competitively after the hiring of new head coach Bear Davis. Despite the dismal 2-12 campaign in 2013 and the loss of key players Kyle Hartzell and Diogo Godoi, the Machine was optimistic headed into the start of 2014.
Heading into Week 7, the Machine is currently resting at a mark of 2-4. They will look to get over the hump and capture that elusive third win of the season as they welcome the Rochester Rattlers to Selby Stadium this Saturday at 5:30 pm.
Despite the less-than-stellar record thus far, things continue to look up for the Machine as the team gains another year of experience. The solid core of veteran players added to the roster this past offseason have proven to be a strong complement to the team’s young up-and-comers. The Machine is still in a position to make some noise come playoff time as these next couple of weeks will determine if they’re in the mix or not. If they can continue to get some semblance of play from the faceoff X and get close to a 50-50 draw, they should be able to keep up the offensive production evident thus far.
One thing is for certain—the future is bright for this young team as they continue to move in the right direction. The talent of the players on their roster is glaring and the league is starting to take notice. Major League Lacrosse announced the Machine’s Peter Baum, Tom Schreiber and Logan Schuss have been named MLL All-Stars and will play against Team USA (including Kyle Harrison, Marcus Holman and Steele Stanwick who were named to the team in Februrary) in the 2014 MLL All-Star Game in Boston, MA on June 26, 2014.
This team might still be a year away from serious contention but once they are able to put it all together, the MLL better look out.
