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Before I preview the upcoming games, there are a few quick hits on the Bayhawks and the
league in general I would like to cover.

Although lacrosse is played across the world as we saw from the FIL World Championships in
July, and throughout most of the continental United States, the MLL proves to have the most
talent as the world’s biggest professional lacrosse league. Division 1 college lacrosse proves to
be the foundation for the MLL, as most players come straight from college to the MLL. And as
the college lacrosse schedule is more widely known and televised than the MLL, it comes quite
easy to recognize many of the names on the ten MLL teams. But what I suppose is more
interesting is the level of interest the MLL receives from the players themselves.

As the status of the league is still improving, many of the MLL players do not make a full time
salary playing in the MLL as well as work a full time schedule playing just lacrosse. There are
two types of players who play professional lacrosse, and their salaries are supplemented by
work on the side.

On one hand, MLL games are played mostly on Saturdays, so the players are flown to the game
location on Friday, the team goes through practice Friday night, and the team plays the game
on Saturday, and following that, many players depart the lacrosse field on the weekend and go
back to working their desk job during the week. Without the expansion of the MLL, I do not see
this trend changing anytime soon. Without more teams and more games throughout the
summer, the MLL does not need to run on a full time schedule. Most players in the MLL follow
this schedule, because marketing yourself through lacrosse is a tough task to startup on, but
several players in the past have been successful in doing so.

Older players such as Paul Rabil and Kyle Harrison, who are the best of the best in the sport of
lacrosse, have been successful in supplementing the MLL with their promotions and
endorsements through companies like Warrior and STX. But just a few MLL players are popular
enough to receive major endorsement deals through major companies such as that. In the past
couple of years, players have been taking a different path, and have received endorsement
deals with smaller successful lacrosse companies like Stringking, ECD, Legends, Epoch, and
others. These companies pay athletes to represent their brand, wear their gear, and use their
equipment in MLL games. Plenty of these younger players, however, still have to work a desk
job every Monday through Friday to supplement their schedule.

On the other hand, many players focus their lives on improving the game of lacrosse and mentoring the youth as they work towards their respective collegiate and high school seasons. Ryan Brown and Deemer Class, two MIAA rivals at Loyola and Calvert Hall, have teamed up to run clinics across the
country through their brand, RBDC Lacrosse. Matt Rambo, former Tewaaraton winner, and
National Champion travels the country and runs clinics and camps for young aspiring lacrosse
players with his brand, Rambo Lacrosse. This path is becoming more popular for recent college
graduates, who can still relate to the recruiting circuit, getting acclimated to college lacrosse,
and know the training and skills required to excel not only at the collegiate level, but also the
professional level.

Stories like these are reasons why I believe the growth of the MLL will be apparent in the next
few years. It just takes a few prolific players to grow the game in ways like this, which in turn
allows the league to become more popular and successful. With that comes TV ratings and the
semifinals being on live television instead of being streamed online on Lax Sports Network.
And with that we have struck the MLL semifinals.

The New York Lizards and the Dallas Rattlers played each other one time this regular season in
a closely contested matchup at the Ford Star in Arlington, Texas. The Rattlers ran through the
regular season and secured home field and the first seed with a record of 11-3, only losing one
game at home, which was to the Lizards. They have had a tremendous first year in Dallas, and
look to keep the momentum going towards a championship birth in Charleston next weekend.
The Rattlers are led by Jordan Wolf and Ty Thompson and from the back are led by John
Galloway in goal. The Rattlers have lost their last seven matchups against new York and the
franchise has not beaten the Lizards since 2014. I do not see the Lizards dropping this one,
especially given the talent their offense has, with stars like Rob Pannell, Paul Rabil and Will
Manny. I think the Lizards will win another one at the Star, taking the one seed from the Rattlers
by a score of 15-13.

The second semifinal matchup features the Chesapeake Bayhawks against the Denver
Outlaws. These two met twice during the regular season, with the Bayhawks winning both by a
couple goals. Back in May, the Bayhawks scored 24 to beat the Outlaws by two, and in late
July, the Bayhawks won by two once again, this time 13-11. This should be more of intriguing
matchup, because it is hard to beat the same team thrice in a given season. The bayhawks
should return star guys like Lyle Thompson, Steele Stanwick and Matt Danowski for the playoff
game. The Outlaws have a much more balanced offense, and gain contributions from many
different players, including Eric Law, Matt Kavanaugh, Romar Dennis and Chris Cloutier.
Although beating a team three times is tough, I think the Bayhawks can get it done, and will
advance to Charleston by a score of 13-12.

The post MLL Playoffs Preview appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

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Josh Byrne (Hofstra) set the single season goals record for rookies after tallying 7 goals on the night. He currently has 35 goals on the season, one more than the record set by Kieran McArdle (Rutgers) in 2014. 

The Outlaws controlled most of the game, leading from early in the first quarter until the Bayhawks took the lead with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The final ten minutes of the game were reminiscent of the last meeting between the two teams.

On July 27, the Bayhawks and Outlaws met in Denver in a highly contested game. The highest lead held in the game was by the Outlaws in the first quarter, but for most of the game it was a one-point contest. Without star attackman Lyle Thompson, the two other starters stepped up in a big way, keeping the Bayhawks in the game. Matt Danowski (3 goals, 2 assists) and Josh Byrne (4 goals) scored some big goals in the fourth quarter. Danowski had a highlight reel behind the back goal in the first quarter to add to his big day.

Colin Heacock (1,1), Nick Aponte (1,1) and Jake Froccaro (0,2) also had multi-point days in one of the Bayhawks lower scoring games of the season.

Wes Berg and Romar Dennis recorded hat tricks for the Outlaws, while Eric Law portrayed his heroics just like he did in last year’s playoffs. He caught a feed on the right wing from Ryan Ambler and stuck home a quick righty shot. Jack Kelly shut the door on the Bayhawks. He finished with 24 saves.

The Bayhawks could have clinched a spot winning both games, but as of now still can potentially jump a spot into the postseason.

In a higher scoring performance that was delayed two hours by lightning, the Bayhawks came out on top, led by a few insane performances. The Bayhawks ended the last 18 minutes of the game on a 13-3 run. Lyle Thompson was the star of the second half, recording 5 goals and 1 assist during that stretch, one of them being a hidden ball trick two-pointer. He finished with 6 goals and 2 helpers. The Bayhawks played great defense during that stretch, and even though they went about 40% from the faceoff X, they were able to keep the star-studded Outlaws offense out of the goal when needed.

As mentioned earlier, the beginning of the game was the Josh Byrne show for the Bayhawks. He broke the rookie scoring record in the second quarter, and did not stop there, finishing with a game high 7 goals on 11 shots. Jake Froccaro turned in another solid performance (4,2)—and one two-point goal. Star midfielder Myles Jones had two assists, Ryan Tucker had two goals and an assist, Matt Abbott had a goal and assist, and Colin Heacock chipped in two apples. The Outlaws were outplayed in the second half, but received notable performances from Eric Law, Michael Booklet, and Matt Kavanagh (7 points a piece). The Outlaws are now looking towards the playoffs, as they will most likely be the #2 seed come next weekend.

All in all, Rochester plays Ohio on Saturday night, which will be the game with the most playoff implications for the Bayhawks. Charlotte and New York also have chances to make it, but the Rochester Rattlers’ fate rests in their own hands. Win and they are in. You can tune in to the Machine vs. Rattlers game on Laxsportsnet.com. The Bayhawks win against the Outlaws will be aired on LSN Sunday August 6^th. You can find highlights from both of the games at the links below.

July 27th Highlights:
 

August 3rd Highlights:

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Major League Lacrosse (MLL) had its inaugural season in 2001 and basically is comprised of teams stock full of college lacrosse All-Americans. Most games could basically be All-Star games. The league has had its ups and downs along the way, adding and dropping a few teams. The MLL attempted its expansion westward in 2006, adding four teams, including teams in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver and Chicago. At that time, lacrosse, and especially professional lacrosse was mainly a sport operated and played on the East Coast. Consequentially, these teams suffered financially due to attendance problems and moved a few years later. The only one who would survive was the Denver Outlaws—the defending champs and current first place team.

Following the unsuccessful Westward push, the MLL decided to stay on the East side of the United States and expanded in a different way. The Ohio Machine were added along with the Charlotte Hounds in 2012, and have been successfully playing since then. The two teams are sitting at second and fourth, respectively, this season. The Florida Launch came into the league in 2014 and the Atlanta Blaze were added to the league in 2016 and are playing in their second season this year.

The only professional lacrosse league in the world projects to expand further in the next few years, hoping to come close to doubling their current count of nine teams. With the recent expansion of college lacrosse to the West (Utah), the MLL looks to benefit from the growth of the game. Once known as a hotbed sport—lacrosse was a sport mostly utilized and played in Baltimore, Long Island, and other major cities on the East Coast—the sport has gained popularity throughout the West over the past five years. Under Armour holds an Underclass Tournament every year during the weekend of their Under Armour All-American Senior Game at Towson University, and many of the teams from the West Region have been impressive considering the competition they have. The growth of the game is something that will be intriguing to follow for the next few years and into the future. Many colleges and big cities could be a major beneficiary of this sport in the coming years.

One thing people like about lacrosse is its combination of sports such as basketball and football, with many twists. Lacrosse is known as “the fastest game on two feet”, and combines skills such as agility and quickness and strength. It is a game played with such attributes as finesse and strength, and combines the two in a way that becomes instantly unique.

As for this year’s version of the Bayhawks, they may not be shining as of now, but have what it takes to jump ahead in the standings during the last three weeks of the season. Myles Jones has been leading the team from the midfield all year, and can throw his athletic frame around to create some highlight reel goals. In the All-Star game two weeks ago Jones was named the MVP after scoring four goals including the game winner for the Stripes in OT. Sticking with the highlight reel trend, recent addition Lyle Thompson has provided a spark at the attack, just like he did in his college days at Albany. A member of the Onondaga Nation, Thompson thrived at Albany, breaking the record for most career points in NCAA Division 1 (400). His ability to finish anywhere on the field and make a goalie look clueless is up there as one of the best ever. In the last two games he has played in, he has a combined 7 goals and 2 assists.

Matt Danowski and Josh Byrne round out the attack unit for the Bayhawks. Recently graduated from Hofstra University, Byrne has lit up the scoreboard in his five games for the Bayhawks this summer, averaging 5 points a game. Danowski has only played in one more game than Byrne, but has scored 23 points on the year, making him a solid contributor to the offense. Other notable attackmen include another recent graduate, Colin Heacock, Nathan Lewnes, and Shawn Evans.

Myles Jones is backed up by some star studded names from the midfield, including a former star from Syracuse, Matt Abbott. Abbott and youngster Jake Froccaro have shown their offensive prowess throughout the year, netting multiple solid performances. The defensive unit for the Bayhawks includes CJ Costabile, the hero for the Duke Blue Devils in their 2010 championship victory, as well as a couple of Terps. Jesse Bernhardt and Niko Amato have brought their defensive stalwart to Annapolis and have the potential to shut down an offense.

Most MLL teams include plenty of big names, considering most of them were studs for their respective D1 (or D3) college teams. But the thing that stands out the most with this version of the Chesapeake Bayhawks is their young talent. With the exception of a few, many of the key contributors of the offense and defense have graduated college within the last few years. Besides adjusting to the level of play in the MLL these dudes are in fantastic shape and have excellent daily routines coming from their physically taxing collegiate seasons. All in all, the maximum goals for the Bayhawks are still attainable. The star-studded lineup has what it takes to “run the table” in the MLL playoffs.

MLL All-Star Game Highlights:

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