Atlanta Blaze
|
Team logo | |
| League | MLL |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 |
| Home stadium | Fifth Third Bank Stadium |
| Based in | Kennesaw, Georgia |
| Colors |
Black, red, gold, white |
| Head coach | David Huntley |
| General manager | Spencer Ford |
| Steinfeld Cups | None |
| Website | atlantablaze.com |
The Atlanta Blaze is a professional men's field lacrosse team based in Kennesaw, Georgia. They joined the Major League Lacrosse (MLL) league as an expansion team for the 2016 season. The team plays its home games at Fifth Third Bank Stadium, located in Kennesaw, Georgia.[1]
Franchise history
In August 2015, MLL granted an expansion franchise to Atlanta, Georgia for the 2016 MLL season. The league had held several games there before including the 2014 and 2015 championship games which drew 8,149 and 8,674 people (the latter is a Steinfeld Cup record).
2016 inaugural season
The Blaze hosted the first game in franchise history on Saturday, April 23, 2016 against the storied Chesapeake Bayhawks. Kevin Rice scored the first goal in franchise history only 44 seconds into the game, and Conrad Oberbeck scored 14 seconds later as Atlanta took a 6-0 lead to start the game. Despite the great start, the Blaze were not able to finish it out and lost 16-13 in front of 4,145 fans. After losing in Boston, the Blaze came back home on May 14 where they smoked the Denver Outlaws for their first win in franchise history by a score of 23-12.[2]
The rest of the Blaze's first year included some very questionable moves. On June 14, the Blaze traded their top draft pick, Myles Jones, to the Bayhawks after Jones had only played two games for the Blaze.[3] On July 21, the team released Hall of Fame head coach John Tucker and replaced him with David Huntley after a 3-7 start. The Blaze finished their inaugural season in eighth place at 4-10, ahead of only the Florida Launch.
Season-by-season
| Atlanta Blaze | |||||
| Year | W | L | % | Regular season finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 10 | .286 | 8th in League | Didn't qualify |
| Totals | 4 | 10 | .286 | Total Playoff Record 0-0 Playoff Win % = .000 | |
Head Coaching History
| # | Name | Term | Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | W% | GC | W | L | W% | |||
| 1 | John Tucker | 2016 | 10 | 3 | 7 | .300 | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | David Huntley | 2016– | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | - | - | - | - |
Roster
| 2016 Atlanta Blaze | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player's Name | Nationality | Position | Height | Weight | College |
| 2 | Scott Ratliff |  | M | 5 ft 11 in | 190 lbs | Loyola |
| 3 | Ryan Tucker | | M | 6 ft 1 in | 195 lbs | Virginia |
| 4 | Jake Bailey | | D | 6 ft 6 in | 230 lbs | North Carolina |
| 5 | Nicky Galasso | | M | 6 ft 0 in | 190 lbs | Syracuse |
| 6 | Eric Schneider | | G | 6 ft 0 in | 175 lbs | Johns Hopkins |
| 8 | Adam Ghitelman | | G | 5 ft 9 in | 185 lbs | Virginia |
| 9 | Joe LoCascio | | M | 5 ft 9 in | 195 lbs | Maryland |
| 10 | Eric O'Brien | | M | 6 ft 3 in | 230 lbs | Ohio State |
| 11 | Pat Harbeson | | M | 5 ft 9 in | 170 lbs | Virginia |
| 13 | Chris Hipps | | D | 6 ft 4 in | 225 lbs | Duke |
| 14 | Justin Pennington | | M | 5 ft 11 in | 210 lbs | Rutgers |
| 18 | Graeme Hossack |  | D | 6 ft 2 in | 220 lbs | Lindenwood |
| 19 | Jesse Gamble | | M | 5 ft 9 in | 185 lbs | Cornell |
| 21 | Casey Ikeda | | D | 6 ft 1 in | 190 lbs | Maryland |
| 22 | Kevin Rice | | A | 5 ft 9 in | 180 lbs | Syracuse |
| 23 | Rick Lewis | | M | 6 ft 2 in | 210 lbs | Ohio State |
| 28 | Conor Doyle | | M | 5 ft 11 in | 161 lbs | Notre Dame |
| 32 | Jay Carlson | | A | 6 ft 1 in | 190 lbs | Maryland |
| 34 | Patrick Resch | | M | 6 ft 3 in | 200 lbs | Duke |
| 35 | Jeremy Noble | | M | 5 ft 8 in | 175 lbs | Denver |
| 40 | Brian Cooper | | D | 6 ft 0 in | 175 lbs | Maryland |
| 41 | Kevin Cooper | | M | 6 ft 4 in | 205 lbs | Maryland |
| 42 | Mark Matthews | | A | 6 ft 5 in | 230 lbs | Denver |
| 44 | Joe Cinosky | | D | 6 ft 3 in | 220 lbs | Syracuse |
| 45 | Randy Staats |  | A | 6 ft 2 in | 200 lbs | Syracuse |
| 47 | Jon Gill | | D | 6 ft 0 in | 210 lbs | Lynchburg |
| 77 | Henry Schoonmaker | | M | 6 ft 1 in | 200 lbs | Syracuse |
| 82 | Jimmy Dailey | | A | 5 ft 9 in | 175 lbs | Stevenson |
| 88 | Josh Dionne | | A | 5 ft 8 in | 170 lbs | Duke |
- updated 2016-05-16
Draft history
MLL Collegiate Draft
First round selections
References
External links
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