2016 Major League Lacrosse season

The 2016 Major League Lacrosse season was the 16th season of Major League Lacrosse. The season featured 9 teams (all in the United States) after the addition of the Atlanta Blaze via expansion.[1] It was the first season since 2008 that the league fielded more than eight teams. The defending champion New York Lizards are coming off their third Steinfeld Cup victory in franchise history and first since 2003 after defeating the Rochester Rattlers 15–12 August 8, 2015 at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia.[2] On August 20, the Denver Outlaws won their second Steinfeld Cup trophy in three years, coming back to defeat the Ohio Machine, 19–18.

2016 MLL season
LeagueMajor League Lacrosse
SportField lacrosse
DurationApril - August 2016
Number of teams9
2016
Season MVPTom Schreiber
Finals championsDenver Outlaws
  Runners-upOhio Machine

The 2016 season was a particularly unusual one. Going into the final week of the regular season, all four playoff spots were still up for grabs. In the end, seven teams finished at 8–6. With the tiebreaker procedures, the teams that were rewarded with a playoff berth were the Ohio Machine, New York Lizards, Denver Outlaws (who had started the season 2–6), and the Charlotte Hounds. The 8–6 teams left out of the postseason were the Boston Cannons, Chesapeake Bayhawks, and Rochester Rattlers. 2016 was the first season since the season expanded to 14 games that no team finished with more than eight wins.

Milestones & events
  • August 8, 2015 - An expansion team is announced to play in Atlanta as the Blaze.
  • October 27, 2015 - The Machine announce they are changing venues to Panther Stadium in downtown Columbus, home to the Ohio Dominican Panthers.[3] The Machine spent their first four seasons at Selby Field in Delaware, Ohio.
  • March 9 - The MLL announced the two semifinals games would be hosted at two separate neutral locations for the first time in league history. One would be hosted at Fairfield University's Rafferty Stadium in Connecticut and another at the National Sports Center Stadium in Blaine, Minnesota north of Minneapolis, Minnesota.[4]
  • March 23 - The MLL announces the 2016 Steinfeld Cup would be held in Atlanta at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.[5] It will be the third consecutive championship game held in greater Atlanta. The 2015 championship game was the most attended game in Steinfeld Cup history.
  • May 2 - The Rochester Rattlers announced they would move to Wegmans Sports Complex at the Aquinas Institute. Even though this announcement was made after the season began, the Rattlers' 2016 home opener was not until May 28 against the Bayhawks.[6]

Coaching changes
  • Atlanta Blaze - John Tucker, becomes the first head coach and general manager of the expansion franchise.[7] On July 21, 2016, the Blaze fired Tucker after a 3-7 start and replaced him with assistant head coach Dave Huntley.[8]
  • Boston Cannons - Sean Quirk replaced John Tucker, who became the first head coach and general manager of the expansion team Atlanta Blaze.
  • Charlotte Hounds - Jim Stagnitta becomes the second head coach in franchise history, replacing Mike Cerino who would transition into a front office role. Cerino lead the team to a 19-37 record in its first four seasons.
  • Chesapeake Bayhawks - Brian Reese, Bayhawk assistant and former head coach of the Outlaws, replaced Dave Cottle after his retirement.[9]

Teams

Stadiums and locations
Main article: List of Major League Lacrosse stadiums
Atlanta Blaze Boston Cannons Charlotte Hounds Chesapeake Bayhawks
Fifth Third Bank Stadium Harvard Stadium American Legion Memorial Stadium Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Capacity: 8,318 Capacity: 30,323 Capacity: 21,000 Capacity: 34,000
Locations of teams for the 2016 Major League Lacrosse season
Active Teams
Denver Outlaws Florida Launch New York Lizards Ohio Machine Rochester Rattlers
Sports Authority Field at Mile High FAU Stadium James M. Shuart Stadium Panther Stadium Wegmans Sports Complex
Capacity: 76,125 Capacity: 29,419 Capacity: 11,929 Capacity: 3,000 Capacity: 5,000

Standings
Playoff Seed
2016 Major League Lacrosse Standings
W L PCT GB GF 2ptGF GA 2ptGA
Ohio Machine 8 6 .571 - 209 7 183 5
New York Lizards 8 6 .571 - 218 12 226 10
Denver Outlaws 8 6 .571 - 201 7 206 9
Charlotte Hounds 8 6 .571 - 190 7 187 5
Boston Cannons 8 6 .571 - 179 11 183 3
Rochester Rattlers 8 6 .571 - 205 2 167 9
Chesapeake Bayhawks 8 6 .571 - 190 7 190 4
Atlanta Blaze 4 10 .286 4 189 10 208 11
Florida Launch 3 11 .214 5 168 6 199 10

All Star Game

The 2016 All Star Game took place in Orange County, California at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Stadium on July 9. In the first professional lacrosse game in Southern California since the Los Angeles Riptide left, Team Riptide narrowly defeated Team Rolling Thunder, 21–20 in front of 4,217 fans. Goaltender for the Ohio Machine and Team Riptide, Scotty Rodgers, went onto win the MVP award.

Playoffs

On March 9, the league announced the two semifinals games would be held at separate neutral locations for the first time ever. One (Denver vs. New York) was held in Fairfield, Connecticut, and the other (Charlotte vs. Ohio) was held in Blaine, Minnesota. For the third straight year, the championship game was held at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Atlanta.

Semifinals
August 13 		Championship
August 20
      
1 Ohio 16
4 Charlotte 10
1 Ohio 18
3 Denver 19
2 New York 17
3 Denver 20
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gollark: ...
gollark: ?remind 29/02/2024 Initiate Contingency δ-12
gollark: How odd.
gollark: ?remind February 29th Initiate Contingency δ-12

References
  1. "Major League Lacrosse Announces Newest Expansion Team Atlanta Blaze". Archived from the original on 2015-08-10. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
  2. "The New York Lizards Win 2015 MLL Championship". Archived from the original on 2015-08-11. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
  3. FAQ About the Machine's new home field
  4. Major League Lacrosse Semifinals to be Played at Two Neutral Venues
  5. "MLL championship headed back to Atlanta". Archived from the original on 2016-04-01. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  6. "Rochester Rattlers announce new home stadium for 2016". Archived from the original on 2016-07-24. Retrieved 2016-06-13.
  7. "Atlanta Blaze Announce John Tucker as New Head Coach and General Manager". Archived from the original on 2015-09-18. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  8. Head Coach John Tucker Released from Blaze
  9. Chesapeake Bayhawks Sign Brian Reese as New Head Coach
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