10

Thursday, July 30, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS

In bubble, Mikie Schlosser is only focused on winning

In coming weeks, fans of 

major 
professional 
televised 

sports leagues like the MLB, 
NBA and NHL will see the highly 
anticipated returns of sports in 
the form of abbreviated, COVID-
19-adjusted seasons. The NBA is 
creating a local bubble, while 
the MLB is trying its best to keep 
its employees socially isolated 
— the latter of which being an 
incredibly difficult avenue that 
college athletics will most likely 
pursue, should there be sports 
this fall.

But before most of these 

leagues even begin, fans of 
Major League Lacrosse (MLL), 
one of two major professional 
field lacrosse leagues in the 
United States, will already have 
seen their season come and go 
barring any disruptions.

The 
MLL’s 
20th 
season 

kicked off its nine-day stretch 
last weekend and will conclude 
this weekend with a four-team 
playoff starting Saturday and 
championship 
game 
for 
the 

Steinfeld Trophy on Sunday. 
Throughout 
the 
week, 
the 

league has carried out its regular 
season with all six teams playing 
five games in seven days inside 
an empty Navy-Marine Corps 
Memorial Stadium at the Naval 
Academy in Annapolis, Md. 

To 
ensure 
proper 
social 

distancing and public health 
measures are taken, all players 
were tested prior to arrival and 
are receiving daily temperature 
checks. 
In 
addition, 
team 

benches 
reside 
on 
opposite 

sidelines as opposed to their 
typical configuration of side-by-
side.

Since its inception in 2000, 

the MLL has endured a series 
of business booms and busts, 
expansions and contractions, in 
an attempt to grow the game of 
lacrosse in markets across the 
country. 

So, after 20 years, it is only 

natural 
that 
the 
MLL 
has 

adapted to the hurdle of COVID-
19 and has been able to put forth 
another season.

Although a plethora of talent 

exited the league in 2019 to go 
to a newer touring league — the 
Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) 
— some, like Denver Outlaws 
midfielder 
Mikie 
Schlosser, 

remain 
committed 
to 
the 

league. And while this season’s 
parameters are less than ideal, 
Schlosser is just grateful for the 
opportunity to play lacrosse.

“I think the league is very 

resilient,” 
Schlosser 
said. 

“They’ve done a lot to change 
and keep up with the times. I’m 
just very fortunate that they’re 
able to put on (this season) and 
give us a chance to play and the 
fans a chance to watch. That’s 
what it’s all about.”

Schlosser 
played 
for 
the 

Michigan men’s lacrosse team 
from 2014 to 2017 and was a key 
offensive contributor during all 
four years, recording 50 career 
goals and serving as a captain 
his junior and senior seasons.

Since graduating college and 

entering the MLL, Schlosser 
has dished out 41 goals and 10 
assists in three seasons with the 
Outlaws. Last year, Schlosser 
scored 17 goals and earned 
his first trip to the MLL All-
Star game, but the Outlaws 
failed 
to 
win 
back-to-back 

championships after a 10-9 loss 
in the 2019 MLL championship 
game 
to 
the 
Chesapeake 

Bayhawks.

With a shot for redemption 

and the season up in the air 
with 
COVID-19, 
Schlosser 

spent the past couple months of 
quarantine training to get back 
to that moment.

“Our goal every year is to 

win a championship,” Schlosser 
said. “That’s the only thing we 
are trying to achieve here. The 
individual stuff guys couldn’t 
really care less for. … At the 
end of the day, things are fun 
if you’re successful. No matter 
what happens during the game, 
if we win, I’m happy. It’s kinda 
all or nothing. It’s hard to have 
fun if you lose in my opinion.”

With the season underway, 

his 
training 
has 
paid 
off. 

Through four games, Schlosser 
has already notched three goals 
and one assist. The Outlaws are 
undefeated and, having already 
clinched a playoff berth, are 
poised to have another shot at 
the title. 

This 
season, 
the 
MLL 

expanded the active day roster 
for teams from 19 to 25 players. 
Schlosser believes that a deeper 
roster has allowed Denver to 
overcome the physical stress of 
playing so many games in such 
a short timespan. In a typical 
MLL season, teams will play 
once a week, but this week, each 
team is guaranteed to play at 
least five games.

“We’re able to cycle through a 

lot more players,” Schlosser said. 
“I think our games seem pretty 
fresh still just considering we 
have extra subs that we normally 
wouldn’t have. So I think that is 
allowing people to get their rest 
and not (exert themselves) as 
hard in the games.

“So far I think we’re off to a 

good start. We just gotta try to 
keep getting better each game 
and keep having fun.”

In the MLL bubble, Schlosser 

and his teammates have made an 
effort to cram a typical summer’s 
worth of fun and memories into 
just over one week inside their 
hotel. 
Whether 
it’s 
playing 

Wii Sports in someone’s room, 
joking around in the shuttle to 
the stadium or getting together 
after a game for a team dinner, 
the Outlaws are working on 
building a tight team bond off 
the field with the hopes that it 
will produce positive results on 
the field.

“I think a big thing, especially 

at this level, is that there’s a lot of 
talent everywhere, so you have 
to enjoy the moment and enjoy 
being with the guys,” Schlosser 
said. 
“Because 
that’s 
what 

ultimately makes a difference in 
the end. I love competing with 
my teammates and winning. I 
think that’s kind of how I put it 
all together.”

The lacrosse community will 

look back on the MLL’s 20th 
anniversary 
season 
someday, 

and it will be impossible to 
ignore its peculiarities. It will 
mark a period of adversity, 
excitement and quite possibly 
evolution, for a league that has 
struggled to manage the rise of 
the PLL and its own internal 
battles.

Still, despite those daunting 

challenges, it’s a season that’s 
happening 
because 
it 
could 

bubble its players — the one 
sure-fire way to protect athletes 
and staff without a vaccine 
available.

DREW COX

Daily Sports Writer

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Midfielder Mikie Schlosser became Michigan’s first junior captain when he played for the Wolverines from 2014 to 2017.

CARRIE GAMPER/MLL 

Midfielder Mikie Schlosser is playing for the Denver Outlaws in Major League Lacrosse’s bubble during the 2020 season.

