Chicago Machine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chicago Machine | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Founded | 2006 |
| Home Stadium | Toyota Park |
| City | Bridgeview, Illinois |
| Colors | light blue, white, black |
| Local Media | Daily Herald |
| Head Coach | John Combs |
| Steinfeld Cups | None |
| Division Championships | None |
| Website | ChicagoMachine.com |
The Chicago Machine is a professional lacrosse team based in Bridgeview, Illinois. Since the 2006 season, they have played in Major League Lacrosse. They will play the season opener and closer at Soldier Field in Chicago for the 2009 season.
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[edit] Franchise History
The establishment of a Chicago Major League Lacrosse expansion franchise was announced on August 21, 2005. Along with expansion teams representing Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Denver, the Chicago Machine became part of the Western Conference of the MLL in 2006. The team played its home games in 2006 at Sports Complex at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois.
The Machine finished the 2006 season on August 12. The team became the first MLL team to go the whole season without a victory. The team lead most of game against the Dragons on August 12 only to see the Dragons tie the game at the end of regulation and then win the game in overtime.
After losing their season opener in 2007, the Machine won their first game in franchise history on June 2 defeating Denver. The Machine had lost a league record 13 consecutive games (including all 12 games in 2006). They have yet to place any better than fourth in the Western Conference.
The Machine are committed to both the expansion and improvement of lacrosse in the midwest by running clinics and camps to try and bring lacrosse to the next level.
In December 2006, the Machine announced that its home field for the 2007 season would be Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois.
From 2006 to 2008, they were in the Western Conference. With the MLL contraction for the 2009 season from 10 to 6 teams (due to the state of the U.S. economy), there will only be one conference.
John Meister first signed on with the Chicago Machine in March of 2006, he helped to start the team, and was the President from 2006-2009. He left the Chicago Machine September of 2009 to pursue other opportunities. After Kevin Finneran was fired from the Chicago Machine after the inaugural season John Meister took on the role of general manager as well as president of the Chicago Machine. Kevin Finneran was both the head coach and general manager, and John Meister felt that it was too much responsibility for one person to take on the role of both head coach and general manager.
Mike Culver who was played for the machine in the 2006-2007 season became assistant general manager after the first season, he played for the machine for only two years, but continued to be the assistant general manager in 2008 although he was no longer playing for the team. He is not actively playing at this time, but is still on the Chicago Machine roster. John Meister has protected him on the roster from being traded, for he is a very valuable player, and could be worth a lot in a trade to another team in the league if he decided that he wanted to play for the league again.
[edit] General Managers
- Kevin Finneran (2006)
John H. Meister (2007-Present)
[edit] Current Coaching Staff
- Head Coach - John Combs
- Assistant Coach - Phil Ryan
[edit] All-Time Head Coaches
- Kevin Finneran - (2006)
- Lelan Rogers - (2007)
- John Combs - (2008-pres.)
[edit] Current Roster
2008 Roster[1]
| Uniform # | Player | Position | Height | Weight (lb) | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Smith, Robert | D | 6’0" | 220 lbs | Georgetown |
| 5 | Pittard, Eric | A | 5'10" | 173 lbs | Cornell |
| 6 | Bigas, Jeff | D | 5'11" | 205 lb | Salisbury |
| 7 | Heim, Pat | M | 5'11" | 205 lb | Penn State |
| 8 | Petit, Bud | G | 6'4" | 205 lb | UVA |
| 9 | Gabel, Mike | G | 6'4" | 205 lb | Vermont |
| 10 | Brooks, Steven | M | 6'2" | 192 lbs | Syracuse |
| 13 | Kallaugher, Dan | M | 5'10" | 183 lbs | Yale |
| 17 | Deane, Jake | D | 6'3" | 200 lb | UMass |
| 18 | Schmidt, Nicholas | M | 5'10" | 185 lbs | Rutgers |
| 19 | Leveille, Kevin | A | 5'10" | 185 lb | UMass-Amherst |
| 24 | Whittenberg, Steve | D | 6'0" | 210 lbs | Maryland |
| 25 | Cannon, Brendan | A | 5'9" | 185 lbs | Georgetown |
| 26 | Shanahan, Doug | M | 6'1" | 195 lb | Hofstra |
| 33 | McGlone, Bill | M | 6'2" | 210 lbs | Maryland |
| 34 | Clayton, Brian | M | 5'10" | 188 lbs | Cornell |
| 36 | Culver, Michael | D | 6'1" | 190 lbs | University of Virginia |
| 37 | Hogan, Pat | M | 5'11" | 195 lbs | Syracuse |
| 44 | Gagel, Zach | D | 6'0" | 220 lb | Ohio Wesleyan |
| 57 | Mitchell, David | A | 6'0" | 195 lb | Cornell |
| 91 | Leveille, Mike | A | 6'3" | 204 lbs | Syracuse |
[edit] Players of note
Both current Machine star Doug Shanahan (midfielder) and former star Todd Rassas (defensemen) were named to the 2006 USA team after competing together in the 2002 World Championships. The 2006 USA team competed in the IFL World Championships in Ontario, Canada from July 13-22, 2006.
Machine attackman, Kevin Leveille, was named to play in the 2006 Major League Lacrosse All-Star game on July 6, 2006 in Boston, MA. Leveille was also named an alternate on the 2006 USA team to compete in the IFL World Championships in Ontario, Canada from July 13-22 2006.
Michael Culver, Machine defenseman, was voted 2006 New Balance Sportsman of the year by both general managers and coaches of each of the ten Major League Lacrosse teams. Culver received this award after starting all 10 games for the Machine and recording 27 ground balls. Culver is a leader both on the field and off. Off the field he helped the community by donating half of his 2006 salary to the Children's Heart Foundation.
In the November 2005 expansion draft, the Chicago Machine drafted Philadelphia Barrage Midfielder Doug Shanahan as their first pick.
The Chicago Machine also drafted Todd Rassas in the 2005 supplemental draft. He is a local product from Northfield, Illinois. He was a three time All-American at Notre Dame, Captain of the 2002 Gold Medal Team USA and part of the 2006 Team USA.
Another Machine draftee, Lyle Shirley, is a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame at Lake Forest College.
It is not uncommon for retired athletes to become sports broadcasters when they retire. However, the Chicago Machine may be the first team to have a former broadcaster become a professional player. In the December 2005 supplemental draft, the Machine drafted former WCAV-TV anchor Zach Heffner.
[edit] Current Season
| 2009 Chicago Machine Season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date & Time | Away Team | Score | Home Team | Score | Game Notes/Scoring Leader | |
| May 16 @ 7 PM | Chicago | 13 | Denver | 11 | - | |
| May 22 @ 7:30 PM | Chicago | 11 | Toronto | 15 | - | |
| May 30 @ 3 PM | Boston | 16 | Chicago | 14 | - | |
| June 6 @ 3 PM | Denver | 15 | Chicago | 11 | - | |
| June 13 @ 7 PM | Chicago | 11 | Boston | 22 | - | |
| June 20 @ 7 PM | Chicago | 14 | Long Island | 15 | - | |
| June 27 @ 7 PM | Washington | 16 | Chicago | 14 | - | |
| July 4 @ 7 PM | Toronto | 19 | Chicago | 24 | - | |
| July 18 @ 7 PM | Chicago | 10 | Boston | 17 | - | |
| July 25 @ 7 PM | Washington | 11 | Chicago | 18 | - | |
| August 1 @ 7 PM | Chicago | - | Washington | - | - | |
| August 8 @ 7:30 PM | Long Island | - | Chicago | - | - | |
[edit] Season-by-Season
| Chicago Machine | ||||
| Year | W | L | Regular season finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 0 | 12 | 4th in Western Conference | --- |
| 2007 | 3 | 9 | 4th in Western Conference | --- |
| 2008 | 3 | 9 | 4th in Western Conference | --- |
| 2009 | 3 | 9 | 6th in MLL | --- |
| Totals | 9 | 37 | Regular Season Win % = .178 | Total Playoff Record 0 - 0 Playoff Win % = .000 |
[edit] References
Mike Heimann, Naperville IL
Chicago Machine Website
[edit] External links
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