2016 Major League Lacrosse season

2016 MLL season Major League Lacrosse Field lacrosse 150px 9 April - August 2016 2016 Tom Schreiber Regular Season Denver Outlaws Ohio Machine MLL 2015 Major League Lacrosse season 2015 season 2017 Major League Lacrosse season 2017 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.http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/press-release/12300/major-league-lacrosse-announces-newest-expansion-team-atlanta-blaze/ Major League Lacrosse Announces Newest Expansion Team Atlanta Blaze 2015-08-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20150810015143/http://majorleaguelacrosse.com/press-release/12300/major-league-lacrosse-announces-newest-expansion-team-atlanta-blaze 2015-08-10 dead It was the first season since 2008 that the league fielded more than eight teams. The defending champion New York Lizards were 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.http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/press-release/12313/the-new-york-lizards-win-2015-mll-championship/ The New York Lizards Win 2015 MLL Championship 2015-08-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20150811220955/http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/press-release/12313/the-new-york-lizards-win-2015-mll-championship 2015-08-11 dead On August 20, the Denver Outlaws won their second Steinfeld Cup trophy in three years, coming back to defeat the Ohio Machine, 19–18. 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 and 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.http://www.theohiomachine.com/news/12490/faqs-about-the-machines-new-home-field FAQ About the Machine's new home field 2016-03-10 2016-03-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20160310134226/http://www.theohiomachine.com/news/12490/faqs-about-the-machines-new-home-field dead 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.http://majorleaguelacrosse.com/press-release/13109/major-league-lacrosse-semifinals-to-be-played-at-two-neutral-venues/ Major League Lacrosse Semifinals to be Played at Two Neutral Venues 2016-03-10 2016-03-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20160310131733/http://majorleaguelacrosse.com/press-release/13109/major-league-lacrosse-semifinals-to-be-played-at-two-neutral-venues/ dead March 23 - The MLL announces the 2016 Steinfeld Cup would be held in Atlanta at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.http://laxmagazine.com/mll/2015-16/news/032316_major_league_lacrosse_championship_headed_back_to_atlanta MLL championship headed back to Atlanta 2016-03-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20160401040731/http://www.laxmagazine.com/mll/2015-16/news/032316_major_league_lacrosse_championship_headed_back_to_atlanta 2016-04-01 dead 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.https://www.rochesterrattlers.com/articles/rochester-rattlers-announce-new-home-stadium-for-2016 Rochester Rattlers announce new home stadium for 2016 2016-06-13 https://web.archive.org/web/20160724122521/https://www.rochesterrattlers.com/articles/rochester-rattlers-announce-new-home-stadium-for-2016 2016-07-24 dead Coaching changes Atlanta Blaze - John Tucker, becomes the first head coach and general manager of the expansion franchise.http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/news/12364/the-atlanta-blaze-announce-john-tucker-as-new-head-coach-and-general-manager/ Atlanta Blaze Announce John Tucker as New Head Coach and General Manager 2015-10-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20150918030818/http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/news/12364/the-atlanta-blaze-announce-john-tucker-as-new-head-coach-and-general-manager 2015-09-18 dead On July 21, 2016, the Blaze fired Tucker after a 3–7 start and replaced him with assistant head coach Dave Huntley.Head Coach John Tucker Released from Blaze 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.https://www.thebayhawks.com/press-release/12417/chesapeake-bayhawks-sign-brian-reese-as-new-head-coach Chesapeake Bayhawks Sign Brian Reese as New Head Coach 2016-08-07 2016-08-21 https://web.archive.org/web/20160821223138/https://www.thebayhawks.com/press-release/12417/chesapeake-bayhawks-sign-brian-reese-as-new-head-coach dead Teams Stadiums and locations 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 United States 500 center Locations of teams for the 2016 Major League Lacrosse season8px Active Teams United States 34.028967 -84.567626 Blaze left Blue pog.svg United States 42.090944 -71.264344 Cannons top Blue pog.svg United States 35.2182 -80.8283 Hounds top Blue pog.svg United States 38.984722 -76.506944 Bayhawks bottom Blue pog.svg United States 39.743889 -105.02 Outlaws right Blue pog.svg United States 26.375278 -80.100278 Launch right Blue pog.svg United States 40.715833 -73.596389 Lizards right Blue pog.svg United States 40.296667 -83.063611 Machine left Blue pog.svg United States 43.162214 -77.629353 Rattlers top Blue pog.svg 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 All Star Game 2016 MLL 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. SemifinalsAugust 13 ChampionshipAugust 20 1 Ohio 16 4 Charlotte 10 2 New York 17 3 Denver 20 1 Ohio 18 3 Denver 19 References External links Official Site https://web.archive.org/web/20191103043500/https://majorleaguelacrosse.com/ 2019-11-03 16 Major League Lacrosse Lacrosse