The Dallas Rattlers were a professional men's field lacrosse team as a member of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex starting in 2018. The franchise was a charter member of the MLL, operating as the Rochester Rattlers in Rochester, New York, from 2001 to 2008 and 2011 to 2017.
After the 2008 season, the team was dissolved. The Rattlers' staff and roster was transferred to the new Toronto Nationals franchise, but the history, colors, and name of the Rattlers franchise remained in Rochester so that they could be used for a future MLL team. After a two-year absence, the Chicago Machine moved to Rochester to play the 2011 season under the Rattlers name.
On November 16, 2017, the franchise announced that it was relocating to Frisco, a northern suburb of Dallas, and would be known as the Dallas Rattlers. The team is owned by Jim Davis, founder and chairman of New Balance.
The league suspended the Rattlers for the 2020 season while retaining the rights to the team branding to possibly return at a later date. Most of the players and team staff were transferred to the expansion Connecticut Hammerheads.MLL announces new Connecticut Hammerheads franchise to play at Fairfield University
Franchise history Rochester Rattlers In 2001 and 2002 the team played home games at Frontier Field. They played at Bishop Kearney Field from 2003 to 2005, and moved into the new PAETEC Park in 2006. In April 2015, negotiations between the Rattlers and Sahlen's Stadium in Rochester fell through, resulting in the team moving its home field to Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium on the campus of SUNY Brockport. They returned to the city of Rochester for the 2016 season, using Wegmans Stadium at the Aquinas Institute as their home field. In 2017, they announced a return to the city's professional soccer stadium, now under new ownership and known as Marina Auto Stadium.
The Rattlers made the playoffs in 2001 and 2005 as a wildcard. They were the National Division champions in 2004. On June 16, 2007, the Rochester Rattlers won a 27–26 (in overtime) game over the Denver Outlaws in the highest scoring game in MLL history at INVESCO Field at Mile High.
In 2008, the Rattlers won their first and only MLL championship by defeating the Philadelphia Barrage 16–15 in overtime in the semifinals and the Denver Outlaws 16–6 in the championship game.
After the 2008 season, the team was dissolved and the rights to the team were sold to a Toronto, Ontario-based group on February 19, 2009. The Rattlers' staff and roster was transferred to the new Toronto franchise, named the Toronto Nationals; however, the Rattlers' history, team colors, and name remained in Rochester, thus allowing the Chicago Machine to be re-branded as the Rochester Rattlers in time for the 2011 season.
Dallas Rattlers
On November 16, 2017 the league announced that the Rattlers would be relocating to the Dallas market for the 2018 season and become the Dallas Rattlers. It was announced that head coach Tim Soudan would not be joining the team in Texas and instead Bill Warder, a long-time assistant coach for the Rattlers, would be the head coach. Warder and the rest of the Rattlers would play and win their first game as the new Dallas Rattlers on April 21 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in a 15–9 defeat of the Chesapeake Bayhawks.
The Rattlers would finish first place in the league at 11–3, becoming the first team since the 2015 New York Lizards to win a double-digit number of games. They also finished a league-best 6–1 at their new home in Frisco, where they finished second place in the league in attendance. Five of the seven home games in the regular season were decided by one goal.
On August 11, the Rattlers hosted their former in-state rival Lizards in Frisco. The Lizards were the only team to defeat the Rattlers at home in the regular season, just two weeks prior. However, the Rattlers used a balanced attack and a crowd of over 6,000 people to fuel them to a 15–12 victory. The win lifted them to a championship game appearance in their first season in Dallas, and fourth appearance in franchise history.
The championship game was held on August 18 in Charleston, South Carolina at MUSC Health Stadium. The Rattlers would face the third-seeded Denver Outlaws, who defeated the team in the 2014 championship game. After grabbing a 9–6 lead midway through the second quarter, Dallas would suffer a 15-minute scoreless drought while the Outlaws went on a 7–0 run. The Rattlers would never recover and ended up dropping the contest, 16–12. The night before, Bill Warder was named Coach of the Year, John Galloway was named Co-Goalie of the Year,John Galloway ties for Goalie of the year and Matt Dunn was named Defensive Player of the Year.Matt Dunn takes home first Defensive Player of the Year award
2019: New blood Like many other teams in the league, when the Premier Lacrosse League was formed, the Rattlers found themselves having to replace a number of star players, including many that had played with each other for several years in Rochester. Key returners that would take upon bigger roles on and off the field in 2019 would include Ryan McNamara, Zack Greer, Donny Moss, Mike Lazore, Jack Curran, and Cody Radziewicz. The Rattlers would also pick up Dallas native Bryce Wasserman in the offseason. Dallas product Christian Carson-Banister would also start the season in goal for the team in his first Major League Lacrosse appearances.
Dallas stumbled out of the gates, starting a league-worst 0-7. However, midseason acquisitions of rookies Sean Sconone (goalie) and Bradley Voigt (attack), as well as veterans Kyle Buchanan and Adam Osika proved wonders. The Rattlers picked up their first win of the season, 11-8 at Broncos Stadium at Mile High against the Denver Outlaws in the last week before the All Star Break. Sconone made his name known with 20 saves.Rattlers end skid with surprising win at Denver This would start a streak of six straight victories that would result in the Rattlers on the doorstep of a playoff berth. During the streak, the Rattlers would beat every team in the league, win four on the road, and defeat three first-place teams (all on the road).
Despite owning their playoff destiny heading into the last homestand of the season, the Rattlers would lose two one-goal games to New York and Atlanta officially eliminating them from postseason contention. Dallas would finish 7-9 and miss out on the playoffs for just the second time in six years.
Season-by-season Year W L % Regular season finish Playoffs Rochester Rattlers2001 8 6 .571 2nd in National Division Lost semifinal, 13–12, to Lizards2002 6 8 .429 3rd in National Division —2003 5 7 .417 3rd in National Division —2004 7 5 .583 1st in National Division Lost semifinal, 18–17, (OT) to Barrage2005 6 6 .500 2nd in National Division Lost semifinal, 20–13, to Bayhawks2006 5 7 .417 5th in Eastern Conference —2007 9 3 .750 2nd in Eastern Conference Lost semifinal, 15–14, to Riptide2008 9 3 .750 1st in Eastern Conference Won semifinal, 16–15, (OT) over BarrageWon championship, 16–6, over Outlaws2009 Did not play2010 Did not play2011 2 10 .167 6th in league —2012 7 7 .500 5th in league —2013 6 8 .429 5th in league —2014 10 4 .714 1st in league Won semifinal, 15–11, over MachineLost championship, 11–12 to Outlaws2015 8 6 .571 3rd in League Won semifinal, 12–8, over MachineLost championship, 12–15 to Lizards2016 8 6 .571 5th in League —2017 8 6 .571 4th in League Lost semifinal, 8–15 to Denver Outlaws Dallas Rattlers2018 11 3 .786 1st in League Won semifinal, 15–12 over New York LizardsLost championship, 12–16 to Denver Outlaws2019 7 9 .438 5th in League - Totals 122 104 .540 Total Playoff Record 5–8 Playoff Win % = .385
Roster
2018 Dallas RattlersNumberPlayer's NameNationalityPositionHeightWeightCollege 2 Jack Near M 6 ft 3 in 175 lb Notre Dame 3 Christian Carson-Banister G 6 ft 1 in 220 lb Boston University 4 John LoCascio D 5 ft 10 in 190 lb Villanova 5 Mike Manley D 6 ft 1 in 204 lb Duke 9 John Moderski D 5 ft 9 in 160 lb Villanova 10 Blaze Riorden G 6 ft 0 in 215 lb Albany 11 Joel White D 6 ft 1 in 186 lb Syracuse 12 Conor Gately A 6 ft 1 in 190 lb Marquette 14 Jack Curran M 6 ft 0 in 185 lb Villanova 15 John Galloway G 6 ft 0 in 188 lb Syracuse 17 Drew Simoneau FO 5 ft 7 in 185 lb Nazareth 18 Chris Bocklet A 6 ft 0 in 182 lb Virginia 22 Ned Crotty A 6 ft 2 in 185 lb Duke 23 Cody Radziewicz M 6 ft 0 in 180 lb Johns Hopkins 24 Mike Lazore M 6 ft 2 in 185 lb Hobart 25 Ben Reeves M 6 ft 2 in 205 lb Yale 29 Jordan MacIntosh M 6 ft 2 in 195 lb RIT 31 John Ranagan M 6 ft 3 in 218 lb Johns Hopkins 32 Jordan Wolf A 5 ft 9 in 170 lb Duke 33 Matt Dunn D 6 ft 3 in 215 lb Maryland 35 Jordan Stevens D 6 ft 1 in 195 lb Cornell 37 Mike O'Neil M 6 ft 0 in 170 lb Cornell 40 John Lade D 5 ft 10 in 195 lb Syracuse 44 Brian Kormondy M 5 ft 11 in 175 lb Delaware 45 Randy Staats A 6 ft 2 in 200 lb Syracuse 46 John Sexton LSM 5 ft 11 in 210 lb Notre Dame 80 Donny Moss D 6 ft 2 in 200 lb Adelphi 81 Ryan McNamara A 5 ft 8 in 185 lb Marquette 88 Zack Greer A 6 ft 2 in 190 lb Duke 91 Ty Thompson A 6 ft 0 in 185 lb Albany
MLL Award Winners Most Valuable Player Ryan Powell: 2001 John Grant Jr.: 2007, 2008
Rookie of the Year Adam Doneger: 2003 Alex Smith: 2007
Coach of the Year Tim Soudan: 2014 Bill Warder: 2018
Defensive Player of the Year Brodie Merrill: 2006, 2007, 2008 Michael Manley: 2014, 2016 Joel White: 2016 Matt Dunn: 2018
Offensive Player of the Year John Grant Jr.: 2001, 2007, 2008 Casey Powell: 2005 Jordan Wolf: 2015
Goalie of the Year John Galloway: 2014, 2016, 2018 Sean Sconone: 2019
Most Improved Player Andrew Combs: 2005 Justin Turri: 2014
Coaches and others # Name Term Regular season Playoffs GC W L W% GC W L W% Rochester Rattlers 1 Guy Van Arsdale 2001–2003 40 19 21 .475 1 0 1 .000 2 B.J. O'Hara 2004–2008, 2011 66 36 30 .545 5 2 3 .400 3 Tim Soudan 2011– 2017 90 49 41 .544 5 2 3 .400 Dallas Rattlers 4 Bill Warder 2018– 30 18 12 .600 2 1 1 .500
References