Southern Ohio Box Lacrosse hosted the Detroit Coney Dogs on Saturday in the inaugural MILA match for each team. Both teams were excited to be competing in the second season of the Midwest Indoor Lacrosse Association after being unable to compete in the league in 2011.
A deeper bench and numerous strong offensive contributors spelled the big difference for Southern Ohio as they controlled the game en route to a 19-7 victory. Phil Hardy (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the scoring for Southern Ohio, tallying 8 goals including Southern Ohio’s first and last goals of the game.  Other major offensive contributors for Southern Ohio included Mike Cotsonas (Loveland), Devon Askin (Wilmington), and Nate Rothchild (Landen). Goaltender Sean Murphy (Cincinnati) anchored the win in goal Southern Ohio with 19 saves; Detroit goaltender & team president Owen Blank posted 12 saves.
Southern Ohio team president Sean Murphy was very happy with the game. “Both teams have worked hard to put together teams that could play competitive box lacrosse this year. To put teams on the floor, play hard, and enjoy a real box lacrosse game was the wonderful result of the hard work put in my the leadership of Southern Ohio and Detroit. I’m especially happy that both teams will be able to draw on the excitement of getting our seasons started to recruit more competitive players going into the regular season.”
Weather played a factor in Saturday’s game, despite the indoor venue. The game was originally scheduled for the new outdoor box field in Loveland, Ohio, but was moved indoors due to excessive heat and concerns about possible thunderstorms. The indoor venue, however, was nearly as hot as outdoors and took its toll on players, slowing the game down before the second half started.
Nonetheless, Sean Murphy praised the playing venue at River’s Edge Indoor Sports in Cleves, Ohio. “The field and facilities at River’s Edge are absolutely unmatched for a quality box lacrosse experience in the Midwest. The team is especially grateful that River’s Edge was able to make their facilities available on short notice for our season opener.”
As the inaugural game for Southern Ohio and Detroit, the game proved to be a learning experience for everyone. “Our team, like many MILA teams, is composed largely of excellent field lacrosse players now learning the specialized tactics & strategies of box lacrosse. We made great strides in this game implementing our early lessons & learning new tricks in the course of the game. It was also good to work with our developing referees. Both they and the players learned from one another in the course of the game.”
Southern Ohio is next in action on the road in Cleveland on August 18th.
