MLL Major League Lacrosse

MLL Week 10: Inside the Numbers

August 16, 2019 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL) News Release


We take a closer look at the numbers from Week 10 of the 2019 MLL Season.

This week the Atlanta Blaze beat the Boston Cannons 14-13, the Chesapeake Bayhawks beat the Denver Outlaws 12-9, and The Dallas Rattlers beat the New York Lizards 15-11.

 

Goals Per Game Assists Per Game Ground Balls Per Game Face off Wins Per Game Shots on Goal Per Game Turnovers Per Game

Blaze - 14.8 Blaze - 10.6 Outlaws - 43.5 Outlaws - 18.2 Bayhawks - 27.3 Bayhawks - 14.5

Cannons - 14.7 Outlaws - 7.4 Cannons - 40.3 Blaze - 16.6 Cannons - 27.1 Rattlers - 15.2

Bayhawks - 13.7 Cannons - 6.4 Blaze - 39.1 Cannons - 15 Outlaws - 26.9 Cannons - 16.9

Outlaws - 13.1 Bayhawks - 6 Lizards - 36 Lizards - 14.6 Blaze - 26.2 Outlaws - 17.2

Lizards - 11.5 Lizards - 5.5 Bayhawks - 34.4 Bayhawks - 14 Lizards - 24.2 Lizards - 17.3

Rattlers - 11.2 Rattlers - 4.1 Rattlers - 33 Rattlers - 10.4 Rattlers - 24.2 Blaze - 18.5

Caused Turnovers Per Game Ground Balls Against Per Game Shots on Goal Against Per Game Face off Losses Per Game

Rattlers - 7.7 Outlaws - 31.1 Bayhawks - 24.1 Outlaws - 11.5

Bayhawks - 7.7 Bayhawks - 36.8 Rattlers - 25.3 Lizards - 13.9

Cannons - 6.8 Lizards - 38.7 Outlaws - 25.8 Blaze - 15

Outlaws - 6 Blaze - 38.8 Cannons - 26 Bayhawks - 15.2

Blaze - 5.4 Cannons - 39.8 Lizards - 26.8 Cannons - 16.4

Lizards - 5 Rattlers - 41.4 Blaze - 27.6 Rattlers - 17.1

Best Passing Teams

Atlanta Blaze - 71.8% GWA (117 Assists & 163 Goals)

Denver Outlaws - 56.5% GWA (74 Assists & 131 Goals)

New York Lizards - 48.4% GWA (61 Assists & 126 Goals)

Chesapeake Bayhawks - 43.8% GWA (60 Assists & 137 Goals)

Boston Cannons - 43.5% GWA (64 Assists & 147 Goals)

Dallas Rattlers - 36.6% GWA (41 Assists & 112 Goals)

These rankings are based on the percent of a team's goals that are assisted. The acronym GWA stands for Goals With an Assist

Ground Ball Percent's Rankings

Denver Outlaws - 58.3% 

Boston Cannons - 50.3%

Atlanta Blaze - 50.2%

Chesapeake Bayhawks - 48.3%

New York Lizards - 48.2%

Dallas Rattlers - 44.4% 

These rankings are based on the percent of all available ground balls in a game that a certain team scoops up.

Caused Turnovers - Turnovers Ratio Rankings

Chesapeake Bayhawks - 1.88 CTTR

Dallas Rattlers - 1.97 CTTR

Boston Cannons - 2.49 CTTR

Denver Outlaws - 2.87 CTTR

Atlanta Blaze - 3.44 CTTR

New York Lizards - 3.46 CTTR 

These rankings are based on which teams have the best ratio of caused turnover to turnovers. For example, if a team has a 3 CTTR (Caused Turnover-Turnover Ratio) then for every Caused Turnover they force they give up 3 Turnovers.

Team Stats Trends for Week 10

Teams with more Shots on Goal were 2-1 this week

Teams with more Ground Balls were 0-3 this week

Teams with more Face off Wins were 0-2-1 this week

Teams with less Turnovers were 2-1 this week

Teams winning at Half were 3-0 this week

Teams winning going into the 4th Quarter were 3-0 this week

(Note: the 0-2-1 means that in certain games the teams tied in certain statistics, like face off wins, or that games were tied at half or going into the 4th quarter)

In week 10 of MLL action there were many interesting statistical trends that can be analyzed. Having more shots on goal and having less turnovers both had a 66.7% success rate, which makes sense since shooting more leads to more goals and holding onto the ball limits your opponent's fast break opportunities. Having more ground balls and winning more face off wins did not have the same success this week, no team with more ground balls or more face off wins was able to win this past weekend. On the opposite side of the spectrum teams winning their games at half all went on to win their games, and therefore every team leading going into the 4th quarter also was able to win.

Team Stats Trends for the Whole Season

Teams with more Shots on Goal are 17-12-2

Teams with more Ground Balls are 18-12-1

Teams with more Face off Wins are 15-14-2

Teams with less Turnovers are 10-15-6

Teams winning at Half are 18-8-5

Teams winning going into the 4th Quarter 26-2-3 

(Note: Any record with a third number, like 15-14-2, indicates that there have been games that tied in these statistical categories, or indicates that a game was tied at halftime or going into the 4th quarter)

Season trends have really started to settle into what we would assume they will remain at for the remainder of the MLL season. Having more shots on goal and more ground balls has led to the most wins among the statistical categories, while winning more face offs has been closer to 500. Having less turnovers has been the strangest category since only 10 teams have won a game this year while having less turnovers than their opponents. This could partly be due to winning teams trying to hold the ball as long as they can at the end of games and therefore not shooting which can lead to more turnovers, whether that be a shot clock violation or an eventual bad pass. Winning going into halftime has also led to 18 wins compared to 8 loses which is quite impressive. However, it is not nearly as impressive as the 26 wins that winning going into the 4th quarter has produced. Only 2 teams all year have been able to make a 4th quarter comeback, and the remaining 3 games were tied going into the final period of play.

Zach Wright's Teammate of the Week Award

Tommy Palasek once again this week was a stand out player for the Atlanta Blaze. Palasek was a huge part of the Blaze's upset win over the Cannons in Boston. Palasek was able to grab a ground ball and score two goals during the game, and with the Blaze only winning by one goal his goals were very crucial. Palasek's biggest contribution on Saturday was his four assists. Palasek had three assists through the first three quarters but his most important assist came with only six minutes remaining in the final quarter. His pass to Brendan Sunday put the Blaze up by two goals in a very tight game. Due to his incredible play and ability to find his teammates in scoring position Tommy Palasek wins Zach Wright's Teammate of the Week Award for Week 10 of the 2019 MLL season. This is the second week in a row he won the award; this is also the fourth week in a row an Atlanta Blaze player has taken home the award. Palasek has also become only the second player in the entire history of this award to win it in back to back weeks, his teammate Randy Staats accomplished this feat in weeks 7 & 8. Finally, in the 10 week history of this award an Atlanta Blaze player has won in 5 of those weeks (Randy Staats in weeks 4, 7, & 8 and Tommy Palasek in weeks 9 & 10).

Week 10 Team Shots on Goal Efficiency (SOGE) Rankings

Atlanta Blaze - 70% SOGE (14 Goals & 20 SOG)

New York Lizards - 52.4% SOGE (11 Goals & 21 SOG)

Dallas Rattlers - 51.7% SOGE (15 Goals & 29 SOG)

Boston Cannons - 50% SOGE (13 Goals & 26 SOG)

Chesapeake Bayhawks - 48% SOGE (12 Goals & 25 SOG)

Denver Outlaws - 40.9% SOGE (9 Goals & 22 SOG) 

Team SOGE Season Rankings

Atlanta Blaze - 56.6% SOGE (163 Goals & 288 SOG)

Boston Cannons - 54.2% SOGE (147 Goals & 271 SOG)

Chesapeake Bayhawks - 50.2% SOGE (137 Goals & 273 SOG)

Denver Outlaws - 48.7% SOGE (131 Goals & 269 SOG)

New York Lizards - 47.4% SOGE (126 Goals & 266 SOG)

Dallas Rattlers - 46.3% SOGE (112 Goals & 242 SOG)

Home Teams Start a Comeback

One of the most under the radar storylines of the 2019 MLL season has been the battle between home and away teams. Last week we saw the away teams go 3-1 and take the largest lead we had seen to date. This week was slightly different with the home teams going 2-1 and closing that gap by a little bit. Both the Chesapeake Bayhawks and the Dallas Rattlers were able to get wins at home this week over the New York Lizards and Denver Outlaws respectively, while the Atlanta Blaze were able to get a road win against the Boston Cannons. With only 6 weeks left in the season the home teams are going to have to start picking up games at a high rate if they are going to complete their comeback and over take the away teams. This weekend the Bayhawks, Lizards, & Rattlers all have home games and since the Rattlers and Lizards are the lowest in the MLL standings this might not be a great week for the home teams. However, the Rattlers have been impressive lately winning 3 games in a row after dropping their first 7. If all 3 teams are successful at home, they could tie up the season record between home and away teams.

2019 Season: Home & Away Record is 14-17

Every Teams Home & Away Records so far this season

Atlanta Blaze

Home Record: 3-3

Away Record: 3-2

Boston Cannons

Home Record: 2-3

Away Record: 4-1

Chesapeake Bayhawks

Home Record: 3-2

Away Record: 4-1

Dallas Rattlers

Home Record: 1-4

Away Record: 2-3

Denver Outlaws

Home Record: 3-2

Away Record: 3-2

New York Lizards

Home Record: 2-3

Away Record: 1-5

Best Week 10 Performances

Tommy Palasek - Atlanta Blaze - 6 points (2 Goals & 4 Assists) & 1 Ground Ball

Lyle Thompson - Chesapeake Bayhawks - 5 points (3 Goals & 2 Assists) & 1 Ground Ball

Bradley Voigt - Dallas Rattlers - 5 points (4 Goals & 1 Assist) & 2 Ground Balls

Bryce Wasserman - Dallas Rattlers - 5 points (3 Goals & 2 Assists)

Shayne Jackson - Atlanta Blaze - 5 points (4 Goals & 1 Assist)

Zed Williams - Boston Cannons - 5 points (2 Goals, 1 2pt Goal & 1 Assist) & 1 Ground Ball

Christian Mazzone - Atlanta Blaze - 5 points (2 Goals & 3 Assists) & 2 Ground Balls 

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