The parity that resulted in seven of the nine MLL teams finishing in a first-place tie at the end of the 2016 season – and resulted in three teams tied for the best-record in the league not making the playoffs – has not vanished in the first three weeks of the 2017 season.
Through the first 11 games of the season, six games were decided by only one goal, three of which went to overtime. The largest margin of victory was six goals.
In the Saturday games from Week 3, the Chesapeake Bayhawks came back from a 14-9 halftime deficit to beat the Boston Cannons 19-18 and the Rochester Rattlers topped the Ohio Machine 12-11 in overtime after scoring the equalizer with 11.5 seconds remaining in regulation.
“You can’t give away games,” Bayhawks coach Brian Reese said prior to the start of the season. “We were 8-6 [in 2016]. It was a great record to have, but that being said, we didn’t finish games we should have. It’s making every game important. It’s working to get better as the season progresses.”
The Bayhawks opened the season with two critical games: New York and Boston. Chesapeake plays both teams only once, so if the season ends in a similar fashion to 2017, the Bayhawks would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Lizards ,but now own the tie-breaker against the Cannons.
“As a whole, on offense, we thought we left a couple goals on the table, which is why we didn’t win our first game,” Bayhawks midfielder Myles Jones told Lax Sports Network after the Cannons game. “I think the guys came focused. We battled a little adversity not being able to practice last night, and a bunch of flights and stuff got delayed, but we didn’t make any excuses. We came out and played hard, those guys cashing in on opportunities.”
JoJo scoreless
In the offseason, the Rochester Rattlers traded a first-round pick in the MLL collegiate draft to the New York Lizards in exchange for midfielder JoJo Marasco. It was a move that head coach Tim Soudan was very excited about.
“He’s a dynamic dodger. He fills the hole that we have with Jesse King not being around on the low left wing,” he said prior to the start of the season. “It will be helpful to have him step in. He’s a great kid, great lacrosse guy.”
The Rattlers are only two games in to the season, and the team is off to a 1-1 start, but Marasco has started slowly. In two games, he has yet to score his first goal with Rochester. He did pick up an assist in the season opener against Florida.
In 2016, he did go scoreless in five of 14 games, but did still finish with 13 goals. Currently, he has only five shots recorded and four shots on goal. He has shot at least 30 percent in each of the previous three seasons. With more attempts, the shots should start to fall.
Boston attack producing
In 2016, the Boston Cannons ranked eighth in the nine-team league in goals scored with 179. It was the second consecutive season the team’s goals total dipped.
While Boston is not off to a hot start (1-2), the offense has been lively, scoring 18 goals twice in three games and sitting second in the league in average goals scored (15).
Against the Bayhawks, the Cannons got great contributions from their attack, with Will Manny, David Emala and Kylor Bellistri combing for 12 goals.
Bellistri, an undrafted rookie in 2016, has eight goals in three games and is tied for the team lead with 11 points.
“Towards the middle to end [of the 2016 season], Kylor Bellistri stepped in and did a really good job,” Boston head coach Sean Quirk said prior to the start of the 2017 season. “We talked about having a consistent attack unit that can take pressure off our midfield.”
Noteworthy
The Machine-Rattlers game was Ohio’s home opener and first game at the brand new Obetz Fortress Field. … Rochester’s Jordan Wolf scored five goals – including the one that sent the game to overtime – and added two assists. … Ty Thompson, who scored 16 goals in eight games for Rochester in 2016, scored two goals against the Machine, including the game-winning goal in overtime. … Chesapeake’s Garrett Thul played in only a combined four games in 2015 to 2016, but had a huge showing in his second game of the 2017 season. Thul scored six goals in Chesapeake’s win. … Jack Kelly and the Denver defense came out strong once again, limiting the Hounds to seven goals and holding Joey Sankey without a goal in Denver’s 11-7 victory over Charlotte. Kelly made 11 saves on 18 shots, including five saves in the fourth quarter while holding the Hounds to only two goals in the entire second half. … One week after being named the MLL Defensive Player of the Week, Denver defenseman Michael Simon scored a two-point goal. This marks the third season in four years Simon has scored at least one two-pointer.
Player of the Week
Myles Jones, M, Chesapeake
In the season opener, Jones scored three goals, including a 2-pointer, all in the second half of the team’s overtime loss to the Lizards. In the second game of the season, Jones continued to prove why he was the No. 1 pick in the collegiate draft in 2016. Jones exploded for the best game of his professional career. He had career highs in goals (five, including one 2-pointer), assists (four), points (10) and ground balls (three).