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MLL Week 9 Preview: Lizards vs. BayHawks Times Two

August 2, 2019 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL) News Release


Playoff Race Implications

Coming back from All-Star Weekend, the New York Lizards will be traveling to face the Chesapeake Bayhawks. The Lizards' 14-10 victory in week 8 against the Bayhawks pulled New York (3-5) within 1.5 games of both Atlanta (5-4) Chesapeake (4-3) in the MLL standings. Since the Lizards and Bayhawks have a doubleheader this weekend, the Lizards have an opportunity to rebound and establish a spot in the MLL playoffs (top four). It is important for New York to capitalize on this doubleheader against Chesapeake, as the Blaze faces the Dallas Rattlers (1-7). The likely Blaze victory would increase the gap between New York and Atlanta in the standings.

Lizards Season Review

The Lizards had a rough season beginning with an 0-4 record. Despite this slow start, in the last 4 games, the Lizards are now 3-5 with a win over the Rattlers, a one-point loss to the Blaze, defeating the Cannons, and a triumph over the Bayhawks leading into All-Star Weekend. Recent contributions from Ryan Walsh, Justin Reh, Nick Galasso, and Kevin Crowley have supplemented the production from Rob Pannell and Dylan Molloy in recent weeks. This has allowed New York's offense to put up more points, even after starting the year with a less consistent finishing product. This newfound offensive punch will be essential for New York as they look to take advantage of Chesapeake's leaky defense this week.

Bayhawks Season Review

Unlike the Lizards, Chesapeake started the year at 2-0 and have struggled in their last 5 games resulting in a 2-3 record. During Chesapeake's fast start, their offense was led by Lyle Thompson and Steel Stanwick with significant contributions from Colin Heacock and Nick Mariano. Lyle Thompson's production of 33 points in the first 5 games of the season has dropped to 7 points in the most recent two games. In addition, Colin Heacock and Nick Mariano failed to step up producing only 7 points and Steele Stanwick, Chesapeake's top assist man, did not play in the Bayhawks Week 8 matchup with New York. After the Lizards held Chesapeake to 10 goals last week, Chesapeake's offensive weapons must produce more results this weekend to attain a different outcome. Steele Stanwick will be back this weekend, providing Chesapeake with another goal threat and attacker to initiate offense with. If Stanwick's return can lead to increased ball movement, it could unlock Lyle Thompson's clinical finishing as well as lead to more assisted shots due to Stanwick's vision. Since Chesapeake's attack is at its best when there is significant ball movement, Stanwick's return could be a deciding factor in the games on Saturday and Sunday.

Other Matchup Factors

Chesapeake and New York are very similar when it comes to faceoff success this year. While New York has been more successful in faceoffs as a team with a 52.65% win rate compared to Chesapeake's 48.82% win rate, the starters for each team have similar faceoff win percentages. The Bayhawks faceoff man Kenny Massa has a win percentage of 55.48%, while the Lizards faceoff man Gregory Puskuldjian has a win percentage of 55.37%. Massa and Puskuldjian going head-to-head this weekend should result in a close battle.

While the faceoff men are statistically close to equal, New York holds a significant advantage in the goaltending battle. Austin Kaut has a 52.26% save percentage this year compared to Niko Amato's percentage of 48.04%. If New York can continue to score goals as they have in their last two matchups (14.5 goals per game), Austin Kaut should give the Lizards a solid chance at coming away with a win. Despite early-season struggles on offense, the Lizards established their defense as one of the best by posting the lowest goals-allowed-per-game in the league through the first 8 weeks with a 12.63 goal average. Even though Chesapeake still has solid offensive numbers overall, they have battled with defense throughout the season.

The Bayhawks (-4) and the Lizards (-2) are the two teams in the MLL with the closest goal differences. Considering the recent struggles that Chesapeake's offense has endured and the recent effectiveness of New York's offense, the performances of Kaut and Amato could go a long way in deciding the results between the Bayhawks and Lizards this weekend.

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