The Ohio Machine find themselves as the bottom dwellers of Major League Lacrosse for the second straight year. Last year, in their inaugural season, the Machine finished the season with a single victory, finishing 1-13. The Machine finished their sophomore season at 2-12. They were officially eliminated from the postseason a few weeks ago, but right from the get-go, they basically were eliminated. Many things went wrong as some things went right. Let’s break down the bad of the 2013 Ohio Machine.
Lack of Offense
The biggest disappointment of the Machine’s 2013 campaign was their lack of offensive production. With names such as Steele Stanwick, Chazz Woodson, Kiel Mastisz, Jim Connolly, Connor Martin, and even Kyle Hartzell, the offense entering the season looked fantastic on paper. Things did not turn out that way however. Woodson has five points on the season, Mastisz has fifteen, Connolly has five, Martin has six, and Hartzell has eight. Each of these players recorded at least double digits in points last season with most of them exceeding twenty.
The offense averaged a little over nine goals per game. They exceeded ten goals four times and exceeded twelve just twice. These numbers are extremely low, especially how talented the roster looked on paper.
Goalkeeping
The Ohio Machine lack the dominance that the top tier teams in the league have defending their goals. Last season the Machine offered Stefan Schroder as their goalkeeper. Schroder struggled and never really shined. Brian Phipps replaced him in the tailor end of the season and shinned at some points. Phipps didn’t prove to be the answer that the Machine needed, but it was a turn into the right direction.
This season was nothing different as the Machine’s goalkeepers again struggled to keep the ball in front of them. The Machine had two options again this season with no clear-cut leader for the position. Scott Rodgers, newly acquired at the beginning of the season from the Hamilton Nationals, began the season in net, but struggled from the get go. The Machine then tried Phipps but he too struggled. The Machine went back to Rodgers later in the season and his performance was a little more promising.
Scott Rodgers played 236 minutes on five games this season. He held a 13.99 goals allowed average (GAA) with a .495 save percentage. Phipps played 480 minutes on nine games and held a 12.35 GAA with a .524 save percentage. Phipps’ numbers are better on paper, but Rodgers’ rocky start skewed his later performances.
Obviously, neither of these numbers posted by their goalkeepers are impressive or clear enough to keep them in net if a better option approaches. The Machine lost a few close games that, with a better goalkeeper, would have resulted in a few more victories.
Lack of Veteran Presence
As the season began, there was a lot of hype around the core of the Machine’s roster. These players, listed in the opening paragraph, never showed up this season. Neither of these players had the seasons that we as fans have seen in the recent years. This took a toll on the Machine as they had no clear leader of the squad until rookie standout Logan Schuss began taking over.
You can have a team of the best young talent in the league, and they can still fall short of expectations. The need of a veteran presence and leader is defiantly needed as shown by the Machine this season. If just one of these big name veterans would have had the season that we have seen before, the season would not look like it did.
The Machine have a nice core of young talent in names such as Stanwick, Schuss, Joe Cummings, and Marcus Holeman. Now having the first overall pick for the third straight season, the Machine will be able to add another stellar young talent to these names. If they can land a solid goaltender and a veteran, on their roster or if they can bring one in via trade or free agency, we may be talking about the 2014 Ohio Machine in a whole different aspect this time next year.
