The 2017 Major League Lacrosse season was the 17th season of

Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff f ...

. Featuring the same nine teams as 2016, the season began on April 22. All four games played on opening weekend were won by the road team and decided by one goal, two in overtime. The season culminated in the championship game on August 19 in

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...

The Ford Center at The Star Ford Center at The Star is a 12,000-seat indoor stadium located in Frisco, Texas. Its main use is as the Dallas Cowboys' practice facility. It is also used for Whataburger's Friday Night Stars, an event every Friday showcasing Frisco Independent ...

. In a rematch of the 2016 championship game, the

Ohio Machine The Ohio Machine were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Obetz, Ohio. They first played in the 2012 MLL season and continued through the 2018 season. On August 19, 2017, the Machine won their first cha ...

defeated the

Denver Outlaws The Denver Outlaws were a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They began playing in the MLL in 2006 as an expansion team. Since joining the league, the Outlaws have played in the ...

17–12, capturing their first

Steinfeld Cup The Steinfeld Trophy was a trophy given annually to the winners of the Major League Lacrosse (MLL) championship. The trophy is contested in a 4-team playoff where the top teams (based on regular season record) compete in a single-elimination format ...

in franchise history. The 2017 season was the last one headed by commissioner David Gross. It was announced on December 23, 2016 that the league's commissioner since 2004 would be stepping down after the season.

Milestones and events

*November 15, 2016 - The 2017 MLL schedule is announced. Notable games include a 2016 Steinfeld Cup rematch on July 15 in Denver between the Outlaws and the Machine. The Blaze will be the Outlaws' opponent in their annual Independence Day game for the first time on Tuesday, July 4. *November 16 - The village of

Obetz Obetz is a village in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,489 at the 2020 census. History The community (originally Obetz Junction, in honor of settler Charles Obetz) was formed in 1838 as a stagecoach junction, and incor ...

announces the construction of a new 6,500-seat multi-purpose stadium,

Fortress Obetz Fortress Obetz is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment complex in Obetz, Ohio. Its bleacher system holds 6,500 people. Including standing room for events such as concerts, Fortress Obetz can hold nearly 20,000 people. It opened in 2017 on t ...

at the site of the closed

Columbus Motor Speedway The Columbus Motor Speedway (CMS) was a 1/3 mile asphalt oval and figure-eight racing track located south of Columbus, Ohio within the town limits of Obetz. History In 1945, John Nuckles and Robert Roseberry purchased of land for site of ...

. The stadium will be finished in time for the Machine's first home game on May 6. It will be the third venue in franchise history. *December 7 - The league announces that the 2017 MLL All Star Game will be played at the 11,500-seat

Bonney Field Heart Health Park is a sports venue located on the grounds of Cal Expo in Sacramento, California. The soccer-specific stadium has a capacity of 11,569 and includes a full-sized (120 x 80 yard) soccer field. Heart Health Park is the current hom ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. It is the second straight year that the event will be held in California. *December 23 - Commissioner David Gross announces he will be stepping down after the 2017 season. Gross became the league's first commissioner in 2004. *January 19, 2017 - The Rattlers announce that they will return to

Rochester Rhinos Stadium Rochester Community Sports Complex Stadium, also called the "downtown soccer stadium", is a soccer-specific stadium in Rochester, New York within the Rochester Community Sports Complex. It is home to the Flower City Union of the National Indepen ...

after one season at Wegman's Stadium at the

Aquinas Institute The Aquinas Institute of Rochester is a co-educational Catholic school in Rochester, New York established in 1902. Although The Aquinas Institute was founded as an all-male high school, it opened to female students in 1982. It is located within ...

, which only sat 2,000. The Rattlers played at Rhinos Stadium between 2006 and 2015. *February 15 - The league announces that the 2017 MLL Championship Game will be held at

, in

. It will be the first championship game held in the state of Texas and only second championship game held west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, as well as only the second Major League Lacrosse event held in Texas. *April 19 -

John Grant Jr. John Christopher Grant Jr. (born November 7, 1974) is a Hall of Fame professional lacrosse player who has played in Major League Lacrosse, the National Lacrosse League, and the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Grant Jr. was named men's lacrosse Offen ...

announces his retirement after 13 seasons in the league. He is the league's all-time leader in goals scored in a career and a game (10). The same day, it was announced he would be joining his former team the Denver Outlaws as an assistant. *April 25 - Attackman

Brendan Mundorf Brendan Mundorf (born July 27, 1984 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States) is an American lacrosse player who played for the Denver Outlaws of Major League Lacrosse and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. He currently plays f ...

announces his retirement from the league after ten seasons with the Outlaws and Bayhawks. He retires with 291 career goals, second-most in MLL history. *April 28 - The league announces a partnership with

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, who will stream 15 regular season games in the 2017 season, and the two semifinal games. Twitter also partnered up with the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...

in 2017. *May 28 - The collegiate draft took place in Foxborough, Massachuttes, on NCAA Championship Weekend. 2016

Tewaaraton Award The Tewaaraton Award is an annual award for the most outstanding American college lacrosse men's and women's players, since 2001. It is the lacrosse equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy. The award is presented by The Tewaaraton Foundation and ...

winner Dylan Molloy, an attackman from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, was selected by the Florida Launch with the first overall pick. Florida drafted Nick Mariano and Sergio Salcido, both from Syracuse, with its two other first round picks. *June 27 - The 3–6 Cannons traded away team captain Will Manny and Joe LoCascio to the

New York Lizards The New York Lizards, originally the Long Island Lizards, were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) team based in Hempstead, New York, located on Long Island. They are original members of the MLL. They lost the league's inaugural game on June 7, 2001 to ...

for Dave Lawson and Chris LaPierre. On July 14, the Cannons announced that neither Lawson nor LaPierre would suit up for the team that season. Dave Lawson informed team officials that he would be retiring from the league while Chris LaPierre decided not to report to the team. *July 8 - The All Star Game took place at

Papa Murphy's Park Heart Health Park is a sports venue located on the grounds of Cal Expo in Sacramento, California. The soccer-specific stadium has a capacity of 11,569 and includes a full-sized (120 x 80 yard) soccer field. Heart Health Park is the current hom ...

in Sacramento. Myles Jones won the game for Team Stripes in overtime, 21-20 over Team Stars, in front of 7,761 fans.

Coaching changes

Florida Launch The Florida Launch were a professional men's field lacrosse team based in Boca Raton, Florida. They joined Major League Lacrosse (MLL) as an expansion team for the 2014 season until 2019. The team played its home games at Florida Atlantic Univer ...

- Tom Mariano, former assistant for the Bayhawks, was announced as the second coach in franchise history on December 7. This is after Stan Ross resigned on November 17 following a 13–29 combined record in his first three seasons.

Teams

Standings

Attendance

League attendance reached a record low in 2017, driven by one-third and one-fourth drops for Boston and Chesapeake, respectively. However, for the first time since the 2013 season, only one team, Charlotte, finished with an average of under 2,000 a game.

Playoffs

On February 15, the league announced the Steinfeld Cup would be held at

. After being held at neutral locations in 2016, the two semifinal games were held at the home stadiums of the two top-seeded teams, Denver and Ohio. Both teams cruised to home playoff wins over Rochester and Florida, respectively. On August 19, the Outlaws and Machine played a rematch of the 2016 championship. This time, however, the Machine were victorious. Ohio came back from a four-goal third quarter deficit to win 17-12. Ohio scored the last seven goals of the game;

Marcus Holman Marcus Holman (born May 2, 1991, Baltimore, Maryland, United States) is an American professional lacrosse player for Cannons Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League and an assistant coach for the Utah Utes men's lacrosse team. Holman was an a ...

had three straight within four minutes in the fourth quarter and 6 points overall to earn the MVP award. 7,543 fans attended the game.

Season Awards

All-MLL Team

Source:

References

External links

* {{MLL season by team, 2017 17

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...