The 2018 Major League Lacrosse season is the 18th 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 ...

. The season began on Saturday, April 21 with three games. For the third straight year, the league consists of nine teams playing 14 games each. However, the league announced on November 16, 2017 that the

Rochester Rattlers Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom * Rochester, Kent **City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area **History of Rochester, Kent **HM Prison R ...

, one of the league's four remaining charter franchises, would relocate to

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 ...

and become the Dallas Rattlers. The reigning champions for the first time are the Ohio Machine, who would take a hard fall and finish 3-11 in 2018. The season culminated on Saturday, August 18 with 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 ...

hoisting their third Steinfeld Trophy in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

MUSC Health Stadium MUSC Health Stadium was a soccer-specific stadium located in the Daniel Island area of Charleston, South Carolina that served as the home of the Charleston Battery of the USL Championship. Originally named Blackbaud Stadium, the stadium was open ...

after defeating the Rattlers, 16-12.

Milestones and events

*November 28, 2017 - The league announces the 2018 schedule. The season will begin on Saturday, April 21 with three games. *December 18 - Atlanta Blaze head coach

Dave Huntley Dave Huntley (1957 – December 18, 2017) was a Canadian lacrosse player and head coach and general manager with the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. Huntley played collegiate lacrosse at Johns Hopkins University where he ...

died at the age of 60. *February 6, 2018 - Alexander P. "Sandy" Brown is named second commissioner in the history of Major League Lacrosse. Most recently Brown spent time as President/CEO of One World Sports. *April 18 - Commissioner Sandy Brown announces the league has approved the sale of the Atlanta Blaze to Andre Gudger, founder and CEO of technology investment company Eccalon. *April 26 - The league announces the 2018 Championship Game will be held in

on August 18 at

, home to the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

. It is the first MLL game to be held in South Carolina. *April 29 - In the Machine's first game defending their championship,

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 ...

scores a league-record 11 goals in a 25-13 victory over the Lizards. *June 9 -

Paul Rabil Paul Rabil (born December 14, 1985), is an American former professional lacrosse player and co-founder of the Premier Lacrosse League. He played for the Cannons Lacrosse Club and Atlas Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League, as well as the ...

becomes the league's all-time leading scorer with his 542nd point. *June 16 - Paul Rabil becomes the second player in league history to score 300 goals in a 20-16 New York win over Charlotte. *June 27 - Lax Sports Network and ESPN+ agree to a multi-year partnership, highlighted by an MLL Game of the Week and a new original weekly show ''Lacrosse America'' (premiering July 6). LSN, who has owned the league's broadcast rights, also announces it will become a free service effective immediately. *July 22 - Goalie Kaisuke Iwamoto becomes the first player born in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

to start in a Major League Lacrosse game. Iwamoto, who suited up for the Outlaws in a game against the Rattlers, had nine saves on 19 shots in over three quarters of action. *July 25 - The league announces the site of its next three All Star Games. The Bayhawks will host at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

will host in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, and

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

will host in 2021.

Team movement

On November 16, 2017, the league announced at

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 ...

that the Rochester Rattlers would be relocating to the

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

market to become the Dallas Rattlers.

Coaching changes

Atlanta Blaze The Atlanta Blaze were a professional men's field lacrosse team in Major League Lacrosse (MLL). The Blaze became the ninth team in MLL as an expansion team for the 2016 Major League Lacrosse season, 2016 season and played its home games at Atlanta ...

- After Dave Huntley's unexpected death, former MLL player

Liam Banks Liam Banks (born 3 June 1999) is an English cricketer. He made his first-class debut for Warwickshire in the 2017 County Championship on 19 September 2017. In December 2017, he was named in England's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cu ...

was named the third head coach in Atlanta's young franchise history. *

Chesapeake Bayhawks The Chesapeake Bayhawks were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Annapolis, Maryland since 2010. They played in the greater Baltimore metro area beginning with the MLL's inaugural 2001 season, as the Balti ...

- After the team and Brian Reese agreed to part ways after two seasons, general manager

Dave Cottle Dave Cottle is a retired American lacrosse coach. He was a consultant for Marquette University, when they added men's and women's varsity lacrosse on December 16, 2010. He was previously the head coach for the Maryland Terrapins men's lacrosse te ...

resumed his former role as head coach. Cottle coached the Bayhawks from 2012 to 2015 and won two championships. *

Dallas Rattlers The Dallas Rattlers were a professional men's field lacrosse team as a member of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) based in Frisco, Texas starting in 2018. The franchise was a charter member of the MLL, operating as the Rochester Rattlers in Rochester ...

- With the Rattlers' relocation to Dallas,

Tim Soudan Tim Soudan is the current Head Coach for Chrome Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League. He joined the team after the conclusion of their 2019 season, replacing legendary coach Dom Starsia. Soudan is a former National Lacrosse League (NLL) ...

resigned as head coach of the team. Longtime assistant coach Bill Warder was named Soudan's replacement. Soudan had been the league's longest tenured head coach after 100 games with the Rattlers.

Partnership with Women's Professional Lacrosse League

In June, the MLL and upstart Women's Professional Lacrosse League, the second pro women's lacrosse league in the United States, will play three doubleheaders. On June 2, the Baltimore Brave (WPLL) took the field in the afternoon before the Bayhawks hosted the Ohio Machine. On June 28, the New England Command hosted the Philadelphia Fire at

Harvard Stadium Harvard Stadium is a U-shaped college football stadium in the northeast United States, located in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium is owned and operated by Harvard University and is home to the Harvard Crimson footba ...

in Boston before the MLL All Star Game. On June 30, the New York Lizards will play a host a doubleheader with the New York Fight.

Teams

Standings

Attendance

For the seventh straight year, league attendance dropped. Only the Rattlers (first season after relocating from Rochester) and Machine posted better attendances in 2018 than the year prior. The Outlaws' Fourth of July game was the only contest all season that drew a five-digit attendance figure.

Collegiate Draft

The 2018 MLL Collegiate Draft was held on Wednesday, April 18 at the U.S. Lacrosse Headquarters in

Sparks, Maryland Sparks is an unincorporated community that is located in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is situated approximately north of Baltimore and is considered to be a suburb of the City of Baltimore. The Gunpowder River runs through Spark ...

. With the first overall pick, the Boston Cannons selected prolific faceoff specialist,

Trevor Baptiste Trevor Baptiste (born July 3, 1996) is an American professional lacrosse player who is a face-off specialist for the Atlas Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League and currently for the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. He ...

, from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

All Star Game

On February 13, the league announced the 2018 All Star Game would be held in Boston at

on Thursday, June 28. The game featured the MLL All-Stars facing Team USA in preparation of the 2018 FIL World Lacrosse Championship from July 12-21 in

Netanya, Israel Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate ...

. On June 27, the league announced that the

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

family of networks would be airing the game. The next day in front of 6,589 fans, the MLL All Stars defeated Team USA for the first time thanks to seven unanswered goals resulting in a 15-14 overtime victory.

Playoffs

Four teams will make the Major League Lacrosse playoffs. Two semifinal games were played on August 11 at Frisco, Texas and Annapolis, Maryland. The winners, the

and

, advanced to the championship game on August 18 in

. The matchup resulted in the Outlaws claiming their third championship in five years after a 16-12 defeat of the Rattlers.Outlaws win third Steinfeld Cup
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References

External links

Official Site
{{2018 MLL season by team 18

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 ...