Rebuilt Machine eyes first road win
June 14, 2007 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Chicago Machine News Release
PISCATAWAY, New Jersey - The Chicago Machine notched its first-ever franchise win at home June 2 against Denver. Next on the to-do list: road win number one.
Chicago, 1-2 after three home games, sets its sights on the team's first win away from Toyota Park when it takes on the New Jersey Pride Saturday. The Machine, despite a tough 15-14 loss last week against San Francisco last weekend, brings a newfound sense of confidence into its game with the 0-4 Pride. In its previous two games, the Machine has seen improvements on both offense and defense, due in large part to a retooled lineup that features nine first-year players.
"We are absolutely a better team than we were last year," said Chicago Head Coach Lelan Rogers. "We feel like with the new players we've added and the vets we've got, we can beat any team in the league. At the same time, we know any team in the league can beat us on a given day, but there is a sense now that we can win whenever we take the field.
"We're certainly much more athletic with the young players we have. But youth can be good and bad. We may have better overall talent, but we don't have a lot of experience. Last week we had some young guys make some mistakes because of youth, but across the board we saw improvements to our overall level of play. We just need to start making winning a habit."
Two rookies, Pat Heim and Athan Iannucci have made an immediate impact on the Chicago offense. Iannucci leads the team in scoring despite missing Chicago's opener with Los Angeles. The attackman has posted 13 points on nine goals (one two-pointer) and three assists, while Heim, the overall number one pick in the Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft, has tallied eight points on five goals and three assists in his first two contests.
Chicago's defense also received an upgrade via the draft, adding Steve Whittenberg and Steve Panarelli. The rookies will attempt to contain the Pride's Scott Urick (12 points) and former Chicago midfielder Kevin Boland (11 points).
"New Jersey is a good team," said Rogers. "They just haven't had the bounces go their way yet. They've lost a couple close games by a goal or two. I'm sure they're probably looking at this game as a chance to turn things around. From our side, we're looking at it as a chance to get our first road win. That's the key for this weekend. We don't care about our record or their record. We just want that road win."
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from June 14, 2007
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- Rebuilt Machine eyes first road win - Chicago Machine
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