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Week 6 Preview – Launch on ESPN3 Tonight For Road Game in Ohio

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in .
via press release   The Florida Launch return to action Saturday on the road against the Ohio Machine. The Launch are in search of their first win after starting the season 0-5. This marks the second meeting of the season for the two teams as the Machine won a tight 16-14 season opener at FAU Stadium. The Launch are led by veteran Casey Powell’s 18 points and third-year standout Kieran McArdle’s 9 goals. Connor Buczek has been deadly from behind the arc as he has scored a league high 3 times from the 2 point line. The Launch have no shortage of offensive talent as seen in their 13 different goal scorers this season but Coach Stan Ross knows it takes more than talent to develop team chemistry. “It takes some time to gel,” said Ross of the early season struggles. Despite the winless start, the Launch have much to look forward to in this weekend’s matchup. In the first meeting, the Launch posted the second-most goals against the Machine by any MLL team this year. Florida looks to improve on that effort with several players returning to action that were unavailable in the first meeting. Lyle and Miles Thompson, David Earl, and collegiate draftee Liam Byrnes were unavailable in week 1 and will look to impact the sluggish start going forward. Injuries have sidelined many Launch players this season but Owen Blye and Cameron Lao-Gosney are back in action for this week’s tilt to provide an extra spark on offense. In coming weeks, collegiate draftees will also look to make an impact including Tewaaraton finalist Matt Landis and new NCAA Champion UNC’s Steve Pontrello. As for the opposition, Ohio enters the contest as the top ranked team in the league having only lost once. The Machine are led by Tom Schreiber’s 25 points and Marcus Holman’s 23 points through 5 outings. The key for the Launch will be to slow down the offensive attack and find a way to score on Scott Rodgers’ league leading .574 save percentage. Faceoff for the Florida Launch vs. the Ohio Machine is set for 7:30PM ET this Saturday, June 4. Watch live on ESPN3 and follow the Launch on social media for live updates.  

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