The MLL season is officially here! With it come large expectations for all teams.
Lizards
“We have a scary offense.” – Greg Gurenlian.
That just about sums it up. The Lizards did some roster adjusting over the offseason and the new offense is fluid, productive and aggressive.
Returning names include JoJo Marasco, Rob Pannell and Max Seibald. They worked together over the season to establish better locker room comeradary and a more inclusive feeling amongst all the players.
These team leaders also did a fantastic job of trickling those inclusions down to the new guys, names like Ned Crotty, Steve DeNapoli and Matt Striebel. Consequently, they’re having immediate positive impacts.
Rattlers
This New York match up will be a perfect test for the Rattlers.
Rochester has been beefing up defensively, training midfielders to play both ways of the game expertly and creating fluid communication amongst their defenders.
Matt Casey (Attack), John Ranagan (Midfield), Mark Matthews (Attack) and Brett Schmidt (Attack) were picked up in the offseason to balance out the offense.
Gametime
All three Lizards acquisitions will commence their 2014 season against their former teams.
Watch for Rattler defense to struggle against Lizards offense, but for Rattler offense and Lizards defense to balance out well. Drew Adams and Sean Brady should hold steady for NY in goal, and the same for Rochester from John Galloway and Jason LaShomb.
Prediction
Lizards offense will still be overwhelming for Rochester. Look for this game to be a momentum setter for the Lizards early in the season, and a building/regrouping game for the Rattlers.
