Atlanta Blaze

Atlanta Blaze

Team logo
League	MLL
Founded	2015
Home stadium	Fifth Third Bank Stadium
Based in	Kennesaw, Georgia
Colors	Black, red, gold, white
Head coach	David Huntley
General manager	Spencer Ford
Steinfeld Cups	None
Website	atlantablaze.com

The Atlanta Blaze is a professional men's field lacrosse team based in Kennesaw, Georgia. They joined the Major League Lacrosse (MLL) league as an expansion team for the 2016 season. The team plays its home games at Fifth Third Bank Stadium, located in Kennesaw, Georgia.^[1]

Franchise history

In August 2015, MLL granted an expansion franchise to Atlanta, Georgia for the 2016 MLL season. The league had held several games there before including the 2014 and 2015 championship games which drew 8,149 and 8,674 people (the latter is a Steinfeld Cup record).

2016 inaugural season

The Blaze hosted the first game in franchise history on Saturday, April 23, 2016 against the storied Chesapeake Bayhawks. Kevin Rice scored the first goal in franchise history only 44 seconds into the game, and Conrad Oberbeck scored 14 seconds later as Atlanta took a 6-0 lead to start the game. Despite the great start, the Blaze were not able to finish it out and lost 16-13 in front of 4,145 fans. After losing in Boston, the Blaze came back home on May 14 where they smoked the Denver Outlaws for their first win in franchise history by a score of 23-12.^[2]

The rest of the Blaze's first year included some very questionable moves. On June 14, the Blaze traded their top draft pick, Myles Jones, to the Bayhawks after Jones had only played two games for the Blaze.^[3] On July 21, the team released Hall of Fame head coach John Tucker and replaced him with David Huntley after a 3-7 start. The Blaze finished their inaugural season in eighth place at 4-10, ahead of only the Florida Launch.

Season-by-season

Atlanta Blaze
Year	W	L	%	Regular season finish	Playoffs
2016	4	10	.286	8th in League	Didn't qualify
Totals	4	10	.286		Total Playoff Record 0-0 Playoff Win % = .000

Head Coaching History

#	Name	Term	Regular Season				Playoffs
			GC	W	L	W%	GC	W	L	W%
1	John Tucker	2016	10	3	7	.300	-	-	-	-
2	David Huntley	2016–	4	1	3	.250	-	-	-	-

Roster

2016 Atlanta Blaze
Number	Player's Name	Nationality	Position	Height	Weight	College
2	Scott Ratliff		M	5 ft 11 in	190 lbs	Loyola
3	Ryan Tucker		M	6 ft 1 in	195 lbs	Virginia
4	Jake Bailey		D	6 ft 6 in	230 lbs	North Carolina
5	Nicky Galasso		M	6 ft 0 in	190 lbs	Syracuse
6	Eric Schneider		G	6 ft 0 in	175 lbs	Johns Hopkins
8	Adam Ghitelman		G	5 ft 9 in	185 lbs	Virginia
9	Joe LoCascio		M	5 ft 9 in	195 lbs	Maryland
10	Eric O'Brien		M	6 ft 3 in	230 lbs	Ohio State
11	Pat Harbeson		M	5 ft 9 in	170 lbs	Virginia
13	Chris Hipps		D	6 ft 4 in	225 lbs	Duke
14	Justin Pennington		M	5 ft 11 in	210 lbs	Rutgers
18	Graeme Hossack		D	6 ft 2 in	220 lbs	Lindenwood
19	Jesse Gamble		M	5 ft 9 in	185 lbs	Cornell
21	Casey Ikeda		D	6 ft 1 in	190 lbs	Maryland
22	Kevin Rice		A	5 ft 9 in	180 lbs	Syracuse
23	Rick Lewis		M	6 ft 2 in	210 lbs	Ohio State
28	Conor Doyle		M	5 ft 11 in	161 lbs	Notre Dame
32	Jay Carlson		A	6 ft 1 in	190 lbs	Maryland
34	Patrick Resch		M	6 ft 3 in	200 lbs	Duke
35	Jeremy Noble		M	5 ft 8 in	175 lbs	Denver
40	Brian Cooper		D	6 ft 0 in	175 lbs	Maryland
41	Kevin Cooper		M	6 ft 4 in	205 lbs	Maryland
42	Mark Matthews		A	6 ft 5 in	230 lbs	Denver
44	Joe Cinosky		D	6 ft 3 in	220 lbs	Syracuse
45	Randy Staats		A	6 ft 2 in	200 lbs	Syracuse
47	Jon Gill		D	6 ft 0 in	210 lbs	Lynchburg
77	Henry Schoonmaker		M	6 ft 1 in	200 lbs	Syracuse
82	Jimmy Dailey		A	5 ft 9 in	175 lbs	Stevenson
88	Josh Dionne		A	5 ft 8 in	170 lbs	Duke

• updated 2016-05-16

Draft history

MLL Collegiate Draft

First round selections

• 2016: Myles Jones, Duke (1st overall)^[4]

References

1. "Atlanta Blaze Stadium Page". www.atlantablaze.com. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
2. Atlanta Blaze Grabs First Franchise Win
3. Blaze Trade No. 1 Pick Myles Jones to Bayhawks
4. http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/press-release/12859/2016-mll-collegiate-draft-live-updates/

External links

• majorleaguelacrosse.com
• atlantablaze.com