WHO

Ohio (9-5) vs. Florida (8-6)

WHEN

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (Lax Sports Network/Twitter)

WHERE

Fortress Obets Field in Columbus, Ohio

SEASON SERIES

May 27 – Ohio 19, Florida 7

Marcus Holman (six goals, one assist) almost had as many points as the entire Launch team in this matchup. Florida was a very different team then, having since added rookies Dylan Molloy, Ryan Drenner, Nick Mariano, Sergio Salcido, Jarrod Neumann and Alec Tulett to the roster. The Launch went on a three-game winning streak after the Ohio loss and won six of their final nine games.

MVP BUZZ

Ohio – Peter Baum, Midfield

Baum tied for the league lead with his career-high 52 points (31 goals, 2 two-pointers, 19 assists). His assist total also was a career high. He’s attacking from beyond the arc, dodging downfield and causing matchup problems behind the cage in inverted sets.

Florida – Kieran McArdle, Attack

McArdle led the Launch in points (46) for the third consecutive season and was just as impressive with the ball as he was without it. According to statistics compiled by Moneyball Lacrosse, McArdle scored 17 of his goals unassisted and 15 were off assists, meaning he moved well off-ball.

X-FACTOR

Ohio – Matt McMahon, Defense

The MLL all-star helped lead an Ohio defense that was first in the league in goals allowed. He also led the team in caused turnovers. Ohio held Florida to just seven goals in their one meeting, the second-fewest goals the Launch scored in a game all season.

Florida – Austin Kaut, Goalie

Kaut finished second in the league in save percentage (56.6), only slightly finishing behind his counterpart against Ohio, Kyle Bernlohr (56.7). In the six games in which Kaut finished at 60 percent or better, Florida went 5-1.

UNDER THE RADAR

Ohio – Mark Cockerton, Attack

For the first time in his four-year MLL career, Cockerton played all 14 games, resulting in career highs in goals (35), assists (12), and points (47). He finished third on the team in scoring and led MLL with three game-winning-goals.

Florida – Chazz Woodson, Attack

McArdle and Molloy get most of the headlines, but Woodson helped pace this team when neither was there. In the four games McArdle missed at the beginning of the season, the Brown alumnus, playing for the first time since 2014, scored seven goals and added five assists as the Launch started the season 2-2. He finished third on the team with 28 points (20 goals, eight assists), his highest total since 2012.

NOTEWORTHY

Ohio

The Machine had the league’s longest winning streak this season, a five-game stretch from May 27 to June 24. The last team to own the league’s longest regular season winning streak and not win the MLL championship was the 2013 Denver Outlaws, who went a perfect 14-0 but lost in the MLL semifinals. In 2014, three teams tied for the longest winning streak, including Denver, the eventual champion.

Florida

Despite finishing in the bottom half of the league in goals against average, Florida tied with Ohio for the best man-down unit in the league, thwarting 81.3 percent of extra-man attempts.