Rochester prepares for the Atlanta Blaze on Saturday night at home.
By Max Gerling
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — As we have exceeded the halfway point in the 2017 Major League Lacrosse season, the Rochester Rattlers (4-4) find themselves 1.5 games out of first place and in playoff contention.
The four teams with the best records in the league make the playoffs, meaning if the season ended today the Rattlers would claim one of those four postseason spots.
With the team’s record at .500, head coach Tim Soudan says that the team needs to do a better job managing games at critical moments as the season goes on.
“We need to make smart plays not the highlight plays,” Soudan said.
The Rattlers find themselves with a record of 1-2 thus far at home, both of these being overtime battles. The team has relocated again this year from Aquinas High School to Capelli Sport Stadium.
“Capelli Sports Stadium is a really professional place to play we are really happy to be back,” Soudan said.
The Rattlers recent draft picks have had an immediate impact on the team’s offense over the last few games. In the second round of the 2017 draft the Rattlers elected midfielder Eric Fannell (Ohio State). In the third round the Rattlers selected midfielder and Buffalo native Zed Williams (Virginia). In the sixth round the Rattlers selected Ryan McNamara (Marquette), another midfielder.
All three of these rookies had an impact when the team hosted the Chesapeake Bayhawks in an overtime win. The latter each scored their first career MLL goals. Zed Williams scored twice for the Rattlers including the game winner in the extra period on an assist by Ned Crotty.
Soudan says he is pleased with the recent draft results and the immediate impact they had on the team.
“Well time will tell for sure as we get to see more and more of the key guys from our draft but they had a heck of a start,” Soudan said. “We won with three new guys in the lineup against a very talented Chesapeake team.”
Soudan says this year’s roster has great depth both offensively and defensively and the team hopes to use this to their advantage.
“We have had several guys step up and make an impact for us at big times,” Soudan said. “ Conor Gately played very well during the absence of Jordan Wolf and we feel he could step in and help at any point.”
Soudan says the combination of both veterans and young players in the locker room has led to the team’s success and has built a strong foundation for the team’s culture.
“We have a good mixture of veteran guys and first couple year guys in the league and they have all been great. Our leadership early has been defensively John Galloway and offensively Ned Crotty and Jordan Wolf,” Soudan said. “Their voices are important in the locker room, on the field and in the huddles. We have a value system that revolves around team first and it echoes in their messages to the team. It will remain our mantra, “Family First”.
Rochester has six games remaining in their 2017 campaign and hopes to build some momentum as the postseason approaches.
The Rattlers return to Capelli Sport Stadium at 7:30 pm Saturday to take on the Atlanta Blaze.