Florida Launch

FLORIDA LAUNCH 2017 Game Notes ____ ____ Media Contact: Austin Lee • [email protected] 561-757-5076 th 141 NW 20 Street Suite G-4 • Boca Raton, FL 33431 • 561-923-9067 floridalaunchlacrosse.com COACHING STAFF Tom Mariano– Head Coach Tom Mariano joins the Florida Launch as the second head coach in team history. Mariano's experience comes from both the college ranks where he currently serves as head coach of Pace University and the professional level where he served as an assistant coach for the Chesapeake Bayhawks. Prior to joining the Bayhawks, he worked as an assistant coach for the Ohio Machine. In 2015, he led the Pace men's lacrosse team to their first NE-10 Conference Tournament in five years. Before leading the Setters, he had a successful 17 year run as head coach of Sacred Heart University men's lacrosse. As head coach, he led the Pioneers from Division II to Division I as well as overseeing a move from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to the Colonial Athletic Association, and eventually the Northeast Conference. In 2013, he led Sacred Heart to the NEC playoffs which earned him Coach of the Year honors. Mariano holds a Master’s Degree in Teaching with a concentration in Elementary Education from Sacred Heart University. He graduated from Nazareth College in 1994 with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Business Administration. As a player with Nazareth, he won the 1992 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse National Championship team. Chris Burdick – Assistant Coach Burdick joins the Launch to serve as Mariano's top assistant. Coach Burdick currently serves as an assistant for the University of Tampa men's lacrosse program. In his stint with UT, he has helped the Spartans to three consecutive Sunshine State Conference championships since the league added lacrosse in 2013. Prior to UT, Burdick served as head coach of Providence College men’s lacrosse program for 14 seasons (1999-2012). After 11 seasons of play in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, he oversaw the transition into the Big East Conference. While in the MAAC, he earned the distinction as the most decorated coach in conference history with more championship teams than any other coach. Under Burdick’s tenure, the Friars qualified for nine straight trips to the conference tournament (2001-09), won four regular season titles (2003, 2005, 2006, and 2008), and claimed the MAAC Championship three times (2004, 2006, and 2007). Before Providence, Burdick served as an assistant for Notre Dame, Delaware, UMass, and Cornell. Outside of coaching, Burdick has served as the president of the MAAC Lacrosse Coaches’ Association and has been a member of the regional advisory committee for NCAA tournament selection. Brian Duncan – Assistant Coach Coach Duncan currently serves as head coach of Flagler College men’s lacrosse club. Prior to joining the Saints, Duncan served as offensive coordinator for Division II Florida Tech men’s lacrosse program. At FIT, he helped the team to a 12-4 record as they finished ranked 15th overall in the USILA coach’s poll. The Panthers reached the Sunshine State Conference tournament and championship game for the first time in school history. FIT boasted seven all-conference players after their historic run. Before joining FIT, Duncan served as head coach and director of all lacrosse programs at the Bolles School in Jacksonville, FL. The Bulldogs were 18-16 under Duncan’s direction as they earned two District Championships with 10 players making the 1st All-District team. Previously, he spent three seasons at Jacksonville University as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for the startup program. In just the second year of the program, the Dolphins made the MAAC Final Four in their first year of competitive play. In his longest tenured position, Duncan spent 10 years with the Community College of Baltimore County – Essex. At CCBC, he worked as an assistant coach and recruiter and then transitioned into head coach for the second half of his run. Under Duncan’s leadership, the Knights won the NJCAA National Championship in 2004. His title run earned him NJCAA National Coach of the Year honors. As a player, Duncan was a midfielder for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County from 1989-92. He posted 36 goals and 19 assists during his career and was drafted into professional indoor lacrosse. ALL-TIME SERIES RESULTS AGAINST DENVER: 07/04/2016: FLA 10 DEN 14 06/11/2016: DEN 16 FLA 19 07/19/2015: FLA 14 DEN 20 05/16/2015: DEN 15 FLA 12 07/20/2014: FLA 10 DEN 13 04/26/2014: DEN 14 FLA 10 Denver leads the series, 5-1. SETTING THE SCENE: In their only meeting of the 2017 regular season, the Launch host the defending MLL champions, the Denver Outlaws, this weekend in their home opener at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Fla. After playing their last two games on the road, the Launch return to their home field with a 12-10 win against the Rochester Rattlers. Though the Launch trail the Outlaws 1-5 in their all-time series, Florida aims to build on their success in Week 2 in order to improve this record. “I thought we actually were better in week 2 offensively than we were in week 1, even though we scored less goals,” said head coach Tom Mariano, “I think we actually ran some of our 6-on-6 sets, and we had a lot of good motion, a lot of good movement. They’re always looking for one more, we’re not having a lot of selfish play right now.” Saturday’s game will also be the Launch’s “Pink Out” game in support of the MLL’s Real Men Wear Pink Challenge in partnership with the American Cancer Society. Four captains have been named for the Pink Out game—goalie Austin Kaut, defensemen Tucker Durkin, and midfielders Steven Brooks and Duncan Clancy. NAMES TO KNOW: Steve Pontrello ● Drafted 25th overall by Florida in 2016 ● Made his debut with Florida against Denver ● Starter at the University of North Carolina for four years ● Won a National Championship in 2016 ● Won a World Championship in the summer of 2012 while on the U.S. U19 Team ● Has scored two hat tricks across two games in 2017 ● Leads the Launch with 7 points (6G, 1A), tied with Chazz Woodson Chazz Woodson ● Drafted in the 2005 MLL Collegiate Draft by the Long Island Lizards ● Named a two-time All-Ivy League and two-time All-New England selection while at Brown University ● Named to Brown’s 2000-2009 All-Decade team ● Scored two points in the 2017 season opener against the Boston Cannons after returning to MLL after retiring in 2014 ● Leads the Launch with 7 points (4G, 3A), tied with Steve Pontrello Jimmy Dailey ● Drafted by the Chesapeake Bayhawks in the 2014 Draft ● Won Division III Most Outstanding Player Award while at Stevenson University ● Scored 1 G against the Rochester Rattlers in Week 2 of the 2017 season Austin Kaut ● Draft 19th overall by the Boston Cannons in the 2014 Collegiate Draft ● Three-time All-American while at Penn State ● Saved 17 of 27 shots against the Rochester Rattlers in Week 2 of the 2017 season ● Has 36 recorded saves through three weeks in 2017, tied for third in the league Greg Melaugh ● USILA All-American Honorable Mention in 2013 ● Hold the Merrimack College record for goals in a game (9) ● Scored a hat trick against the Rochester Rattlers (4/29) 2016 OVERVIEW: The Launch are proud to have had four 2016 MLL All-Stars. Kieran McArdle, Chris Mattes, Tucker Durkin, and Connor Buczek all played in the All-Star Game July 9 in Fullerton, California. McArdle recorded 4 goals and an assist. Tucker Durkin was named to the All-MLL team for the fourth time in his career after another strong showing in 2016. COACHING CHANGES: After a 3-11 season, the Launch brought in former Chesapeake Bayhawks and Ohio Machine assistant Tom Mariano as head coach. Mariano is the second coach in team history. His assistants are experienced college and pro coaches Chris Burdick and Brian Duncan. Matt Dugan serves as the first Director of Player Analytics in team history. ADDING DRAFTEES: This offseason, the Launch aimed to add depth to their roster, starting at the face-off. With the first overall pick in the 2017 draft, the Launch selected Will Gural, Brown University’s top faceoff specialist. After an impressive senior season at Brown, Gural finished his collegiate career with the highest faceoff win percentage of all seniors in NCAA Division 1 play. Gural was also a critical player in the Bears’ NCAA Playoff run, helping lead them to the Semifinals where they ultimately fell to Maryland in overtime. After playing for the Boston Cannons and Atlanta Blaze during the 2016 season, the Launch drafted Greg Melaugh and Martin Bowes as the 10th and 11th overall picks, respectively. Both Melaugh and Bowes are MLL veterans, with an accumulated eight years of experience between the two. 2017 BY THE NUMBERS ● 7 - the team-high in points currently held by both Chazz Woodson and Steve Pontrello ● 6 - the number of players that registered their first point in a Florida Launch uniform (Bowes, Harding, Dailey, Gural, Melaugh, Unterstein) ● 2 - the number of games Steve Pontrello has scored 3 points in so far in the 2017 season ● 36 - the number of saves recorded by Austin Kaut through week three, tied third for the league’s highest 2016 BY THE NUMBERS: ● 56 points is the team’s best mark; held by Kieran McArdle, followed by Connor Buczek with 40 ● Goals in 2016 were also led by Kieran McArdle with 37, followed by Connor Buczek ● 2 players—Tucker Durkin and Kieran McArdle—were named to Lacrosse Magazine’s “MLL Top 50 Players” ● 4 players —Kieran McArdle, Connor

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