Entering the 2014 season, the Rochester Rattlers were thought to be one of the worst teams in the MLL. Following an offseason in which they traded their two most experienced and possibly most talented players in Matt Streibel and Ned Crotty, not many people gave them a chance.
But that’s why they play the game! Rochester finds itself in sole possession of second place in the MLL with a 5-3 record as the MLL heads into the all star break. What has been the key to the Rattlers success so far? Here is full breakdown.
First off, let’s take a look at the offense. This season, the Rattlers have eight players with 10 or more points so far this season. They have a balanced offense led by former New York Lizard Justin Turri. Coming into the season, you knew that the midfield would be the best position initially as they brought in Turri and had both John Ranagan and Dave Lawson returning after successful rookie seasons. Four of the team’s Top 5 scorers are midfielders with Turri leading the way with 23 points, while Jordan McIntosh chips in with 17 and Lawson and Ranagan both have 12.
What has been a nice surprise is the play of the attack. With the loss of Crotty, the attack unit was weak with only Kevin Leveille coming back. Leveille has been great so far as he has 19 points but the best part has been the play of second overall pick Jordan Wolf and the trio of Ryan Boyle, Mark Matthews and rookie Miles Thompson. Wolf has been superb in two games as he has 12 points! Boyle, Matthews and Thompson have all chipped in with 10, eight and seven points respectively.
Now let’s take a look at the defense. Rochester’s defense is essentially an extension of the defense that brought back-to-back national titles in 2008 and 2009 to Syracuse. John Galloway has really come into his own in the MLL. He played extremely well in the Team USa tryouts and earned a trip to Denver to compete in the FIL Championships with Team USA. Galloway has the most saves in the MLL at 116, fourth in goals against average and fifth in save percentage.
Meanwhile, Syracuse teammates Joel White and John Lade have been their usual selves on defense and have 46 and 24 ground balls respectively. Mike Manley has been an offensive threat for the Rattlers as he has five goals and an assists. What makes it more impressive is he has two two-point goals so far this season! Finally, John LoCascio has stepped right in for the Rattlers and has 25 ground balls in five games. The Rattlers are playing great team defense and have been ground ball machines all season.
Now let’s take a look at the special teams. Faceoffs have been a lot better so far this season as John Ortolani has really improved at the X. Last season, he won 44 percent of his faceoffs and had 61 ground balls in 14 games. This year, he is an even 50 percent and already has 50 ground balls in only eight games! The improvement at the X has given more possessions to the Rattlers and thus, helped the offense.
Last season, the Rattlers were third in the league at 28 percent on man up. This season,, they are actually worse as they have only converted on 7-of-26 opportunities, or 26 percent. Then again, when you can score six on six and have a shot on goal percentage of over 60 percent, chances are you don’t need to be too successful on man up.
Finally, let’s look at their man down unit which has improved this year. Last season, they ranked as the league’s worst unit at 57 percent. This year, they have leapt all the way up to 70.1 percent which ranks in the top half of the league.
With all these statistics, the Rattlers are making the case that they are a legit contender for MLL Championship Weekend and it should be exciting to watch their younger players progress as the season wears on.
