By Taylor Woodhouse
The Ohio Machine, Columbus’ own Major League Lacrosse team, is blazing new trails with their latest win against the Florida Launch.
The 14-10 win, the clincher in a five-game regular season winning streak, officially sends the Ohio Machine into the MLL playoffs. This will be the first ever playoff appearance for the team, whose first season was only two years ago in 2012.
“I think that it’s almost like a ‘catch me if you can’ attitude to some degree,” Head Coach Bear Davis says about their momentum going into playoffs. “Our defense has just got to make enough stops. We’ve just told them, give the ball back to our offense, that’s your job, just give it to them one more time and give them the opportunity to score goals.”
The Machine has more to celebrate than just the win. Attackman Marcus Holman polished off the 2014 MLL goal-scoring title with his goals against the Florida Launch, scoring 4 of the team's 14 points.
This is an opportunity for the Ohio Machine to prove that they're here to stay, and a force to be reckoned with. In one season, they've brought their league ranking up from 8th to 4th.
This season is the first full season that Coach Davis has had to work with the team.
The 2014 MLL Playoffs will begin with two semi-final games: the Ohio Machine vs. Rochester Rattlers, and the Denver Outlaws vs. the New York Lizards.
The first game will be Saturday, August 16 at 3 p.m., followed by the second game at 5:30.
August 13, 2014: Columbus lacrosse team clinches first playoff berth
