Tom Schreiber’s year keeps getting better and better and he’d like to cap it off with a Major League Lacrosse championship. He’ll get that chance on Saturday night when his Ohio Machine team plays defending league champion Denver at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The game will be televised live nationally at 7:30 pm (Eastern) on CBS Sports Network.
At Friday night's MLL Honors ceremony, Schreiber was named the Coca-Cola Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row, joining John Grant Jr. (2007 and 2008) as the only players to win the award in consecutive seasons. Schreiber tied Rob Pannell for the league lead with 26 assists despite missing the first four games of the season while leading Toronto to the playoffs in the National Lacrosse League. Schreiber, named to the U.S. Men’s training team roster in July, was the Rookie of the Year in the NLL this season.
Schreiber wasn’t the only Ohio player to win a major award on Friday night, and the Machine dominated the 12-player All-MLL team. Peter Baum (midfield), Marcus Holman (attack), Brian Karalunas (defense) and Matt McMahon (defense) joined Schreiber on the all-league team while goalie Kyle Bernlohr was named the Maverik Most Improved Player. Bernlohr took over as the starter in goal partway through the season and ended up leading the league in save percentage (56.7).
Ohio’s championship game opponent, Denver, had two players pick up awards on Friday night – Jack Kelly as the Brine Goalie of the Year and Eric Law as the Warrior Offensive Player of the Year.
Kelly, who didn’t start until his senior year at West Islip (N.Y.) High School, continued to dominate in the MLL after earning the league’s Rookie of the Year Award last season. Kelly led the league with nine victories this season and was a finalist for the league’s MVP award. Law tied Baum for the MLL scoring lead with 52 points (32g, 20a) and became the first Outlaw to win the award.
Tom Mariano, who led the Florida Launch to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, was named the Brine Coach of the Year. The Launch set a franchise record with eight wins after going just 3-11 last year and finishing last in the league.
One of Mariano’s players was recognized as well with Tucker Durkin being named the Warrior Defensive Player of the Year. Durkin, who hasn’t missed a game in the least three seasons, helped anchor a unit that was tied for the best penalty-killing defense in the league.
The Cascade Rookie of the Year honor went to Josh Byrne of the Chesapeake Bayhawks. Byrne scored seven goals in his very first MLL game and never slowed up. He finished the season with 39 goals, breaking the league’s rookie single-season scoring record of 34 goals by Kieran McArdle in 2014.
Award Winners
Cascade Rookie of the Year: Josh Byrne, Chesapeake
Maverik Most Improved Player: Kyle Bernlohr, Ohio
Brine Coach of the Year: Tom Mariano, Florida
Brine Goalie of the Year: Jack Kelly, Denver
Warrior Offensive Player of the Year: Eric Law, Denver
Warrior Defensive Player of the Year: Tucker Durkin, Florida
Coca-Cola Most Valuable Player: Tom Schreiber, Ohio
All-MLL Team
G – Jack Kelly, Denver
D – Tucker Durkin, Florida
D – Brian Karalunas, Ohio
D – Matt McMahon, Ohio
D – Joel White, Rochester
M – Peter Baum, Ohio
M – Tom Schreiber, Ohio
M – Paul Rabil, New York
A – Marcus Holman, Ohio
A – Eric Law, Denver
A – Jordan Wolf, Rochester
FO – Greg Gurenlian, New York