
Florida Launch Makes Major Cuts to Roster
October 8, 2015 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Florida Launch News Release
The Florida Launch just finished its toughest bout of the off season - cutting its 23-man roster down to 12 players. Notable players like Kieran McArdle, Lyle Thompson, Steven Brooks and Tucker Durkin made the cut but some Launch favorites weren't so lucky. The hardest choices for the Launch coaches were made at the defensive end where MLL stars PT Ricci, Casey Ikeda and Austin Kaut were left off the list.
"This was an extremely difficult process to cut the roster from 23 to 12 players. If we had it our way, we would be protecting everyone on our roster as we had a good group that started coming together at the end of this past season," said Head Coach Stan Ross. "With this wave of cuts, we had to really focus on who we couldn't live without and those weren't easy decisions to make, especially with the depth and experience we have on our roster."
Ross and his coaching staff look to build on the strong 2015 season finish where the team won four of its last five games, including a decisive 18-11 victory over MLL Championship runner-up Rochester in the final week of the season and a 16-12 victory over the eventual MLL Champion New York Lizards. The new roster not only has 2014 MLL Rookie of the Year Kieran McArdle and 2014 MLL MVP Casey Powell as frontline anchors but also features 2014 All-World defenseman Tucker Durkin, MLL veteran and All-Star Steven Brooks and back-to-back Tewaaraton Trophy winner Lyle Thompson.
"The core group we have now will be able to help us continue to build towards our end goal of winning a championship. We hope to bring back as many players from our 2015 roster as we can but our 12-man roster will be who we build upon for 2016."
The Launch saw some impressive individual performances in 2015 from the players on the 12-man protected list. Powell tallied his 500th career point during the season; while budding superstars McArdle and L. Thompson each etched their names in the MLL record books as well. McArdle recorded the most goals in the league with 47 and second most points (and the 9th most all time in a single season) with 65, while L. Thompson tallied the fourth most points in a single season by a rookie ever with 38.
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Florida Launch 12-Man Protected Roster:
# Player Position
44 Steven Brooks M
20 Connor Buczek M
51 Tucker Durkin D
33 David Earl M
30 Pat Frazier D
11 Roman Lao-Gosney M
65 Chris Mattes FO
6 Kieran McArdle A
22 Casey Powell M
23 Brett Queener G
2 Miles Thompson A
74 Lyle Thompson A
Not Protected:
# Player Position
27 Reid Acton D
45 Tom Croonquist FO
5 Nick Galasso M
21 Casey Ikeda D
14 Austin Kaut G
19 Cameron Lao-Gosney M
37 Bobby Lawrence D
9 Joe LoCascio M
7 Jovan Miller M
1 P.T. Ricci D
88 Chad Tutton A
Major League Lacrosse Stories from October 8, 2015
- Cannons Announce Protected Roster for Next Month's Expansion Draft - Boston Cannons
- Dave Lawson Joins New York as Ned Crotty Heads to Rochester - New York Lizards
- Lizards Announce 12-Man Protected Roster - New York Lizards
- BayHawks Announce 12 Man Protected Expansion Draft Roster - Chesapeake Bayhawks
- Denver Outlaws Announce 12-Man Protected Roster - Denver Outlaws
- Machine Announces 12-Man Protected List Ahead of Expansion Draft - Ohio Machine
- Hounds Trim Roster to 12 in Advance of MLL Expansion Draft - Charlotte Hounds
- Florida Launch Makes Major Cuts to Roster - Florida Launch
- BayHawks Receive High Draft Choices for Kevin Crowley - Chesapeake Bayhawks
- Cannons Hire New Head Coach - Boston Cannons
- Hounds Acquire Kevin Crowley at MLL Roster Deadline - Charlotte Hounds
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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- Florida Launch Open House Set for January 12

