Blaze Riorden

Blaze Riorden (born February 13, 1994)[1] is an American professional lacrosse player who plays as a goalie for Chaos Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League and as a forward for the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. In the PLL he has won three straight Oren Lyons Goalie of the Year awards, making him the first goalie to do so. He is also one of only two field lacrosse goalies to win league MVP at the professional level and is widely regarded as the most dominant goalie of his generation.[2][3][4][5][6]

Blaze Riorden
Born (1994-02-13) February 13, 1994
NationalityAmerican
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight215 pounds (98 kg)
ShootsLeft
PositionGoalie (field), Forward (box)
NCAA teamAlbany (2016)
NLL team
Former teams		Philadelphia Wings
Buffalo Bandits
MLL draft51st overall, 2016
Rochester Rattlers
MLL teamsRochester/Dallas Rattlers
PLL teamChaos
Career highlights

NCAA:

  • America East Defensive Player of the Year (2016)
  • Third Team All American (2016)
  • 3x First Team All America East (2014-16)
  • Second Team All America East (2013)
  • America East All-Rookie Team (2013)
  • Albany all-time leader in saves (849)

PLL:

  • 4× Oren Lyons Goalie of the Year (2019-21, 2023)
  • 4x All-Star (2019, 2021-23)
  • Jim Brown Most Valuable Player (2021)

International:

  • All-World Team (2023)
Medal record
Representing  United States
Men's lacrosse
World Lacrosse Championship
Winner2023 San Diego
Men's box lacrosse
World Indoor Lacrosse Championship
Third place2015 Onondaga
Third place2019 Langley

Early life and career

Riorden was raised in Fairport, New York, the son of Mike and Jeannie Riorden. He has one brother, Connor.[7][8] Riorden's family had season tickets to see the Rochester Knighthawks, and he began playing lacrosse at the age of four as an attackman, however he switched to goalie part time as a child when he injured his team's goalie with a shot, and would play both positions throughout high school. While at Fairport High School, he would earn three varsity letters each in lacrosse and football, and won two Section V state championships and committed to play lacrosse at University at Albany where he would have the opportunity to play in goal and on man-up offense.[9][7]

Collegiate career

Riorden started 18 games in goal as a freshman at Albany, where he posted the second-most wins in program history with 13. He would be named to the America East All-Rookie Team as well as second-team all-league.

As a sophomore, Riorden finished third in the nation in saves per game and twelfth in save percentage, leading the America East in both categories, and being named first-team all-conference at the end of the season. He would backstop Albany to their first NCAA Tournament win in seven years by making 13 saves and allowing just six goals in the first round against Loyola. He would also get some opportunities to play attack on man up, scoring his first career goal against Bryant.

In his junior season, Riorden would lead the America East in save percentage, saves per game, and goals against average, once again making first-team all-league. He would make 214 saves on the season, good for eighth in Albany history, and contributed to the program's first-ever shutout in a game against UMass Lowell. He also made national headlines for his coast-to-coast goal against Cornell in the NCAA Tournament, being nominated for the ESPY Award for Best Play.

In his senior season, Riorden would set Albany's career record for saves and was named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award, as well as a third-team All-American, first-team all-conference, and America East Defensive Player of the Year.[7]

Blaze Riorden Albany statistics
Season GP GS Minutes Saves Sv% GA GAA
2013 18 18 1036:27 199 0.491 206 11.93
2014 18 18 1040:01 237 0.549 195 11.25
2015 19 19 1015:31 214 0.560 168 9.93
2016 16 16 948:21 199 0.565 153 9.68
Total 71 71 4040:20 849 0.540 722 10.72

Box career

Following his freshman season at Albany, Riorden was invited by teammate Ty Thompson to spend the summer on the Akwesasne Reservation, where he played box lacrosse for the first time as a forward. He played Junior B lacrosse for the Akwesasne Indians, and then returned every summer during his collegiate career. After his college career, he traveled to Brampton, Ontario to play Senior A Box before eventually winning a spot with the Buffalo Bandits in 2017, playing nine games before being released. He then joined the Philadelphia Wings for their inaugural season in 2018.[9]

Riorden has also represented the United States in the 2015 (where he was the only college player) and 2019 editions of the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship, winning bronze medals both times.[10][11]

NLL statistics
Blaze Riorden Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team GP G A Pts LB PIM Pts/GP LB/GP PIM/GP GP G A Pts LB PIM Pts/GP LB/GP PIM/GP

2017 Buffalo Bandits 9 6 13 19 20 0 2.11 2.22 0.00 –––––––––
2019 Philadelphia Wings 17 23 31 54 51 6 3.18 3.00 0.35 –––––––––
2020 Philadelphia Wings 14 14 28 42 41 6 3.00 2.93 0.43 –––––––––
2022 Philadelphia Wings 18 21 22 43 65 2 2.39 3.61 0.11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00
2023 Philadelphia Wings 18 34 39 73 74 9 4.06 4.11 0.50 –––––––––
76 98 133 231 251 23 3.04 3.30 0.30 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00
Career Total: 77 98 133 231 251 23 3.00 3.26 0.30

GP–Games played; G–Goals; A–Assists; Pts–Points; LB–Loose balls; PIM–Penalty minutes; Pts/GP–Points per games played; LB/GP–Loose balls per games played; PIM/GP–Penalty minutes per games played.

Professional field career

MLL

Riorden was drafted 51st overall by the Rochester Rattlers in the 2016 MLL Draft. He would primarily serve as a backup to John Galloway in his first two seasons, though he saw more action in his third season following the team's move to Dallas, in part due to Galloway's participation in the 2018 World Lacrosse Championship. He made his first career start in a 15-9 win over the Chesapeake Bayhawks in which he made 16 saves.[12]

PLL

Riorden was part of the original group of players to join Paul Rabil's PLL, being assigned to Chaos Lacrosse Club. During his first season, he was named as an All-Star and won the inaugural Oren Lyons Goalie of the Year Award. He would once again win the award the following season while helping Chaos to the Championship Game.[13] In 2021, he was named as a captain for the All-Star Game,[14] though he was ultimately unable to participate due to injury. He was also a finalist for the Jim Brown MVP Award.[15]

Blaze Riorden PLL Statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team GP Saves Sv% SA SAA 2ptGA GP Saves Sv% SA SAA 2ptGA
2019 Chaos 10 153 55% 126 12.6 3 2 28 54% 27 13.5 3
2020 Chaos 7 119 61% 78 11.0 3 N/A
2021 Chaos 9 149 61% 103 11.5 3 3 45 63% 28 14.0 1
2022 Chaos 10 137 54% 126 12.6 8 3 45 68% 21 7.0 0
2023 Chaos 9 135 59% 103 11.4 11 1 16 53% 15 15.0 1

Playing style

Riorden has been called a "once in a generation talent" by the PLL.[16] He is known for using a Butterfly style, similar to a hockey goaltender, being one of the first field lacrosse goalies to do so. He is also known for his stick skills due to his background as an attackman and due to this, he is able to create transition opportunities for his teammates.[17]

Blaze Riorden Premier Lacrosse League bio

Sources
  1. "Blaze Riorden". NLL. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  2. Rice, N. (n.d.). PLL MVP Blaze Riorden Among Goalies Hoping to Suit Up for U.S. in 2023. USA Lacrosse Magazine. Retrieved September 5, 2023, from https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/usa-insider/senior-men/pll-mvp-blaze-riorden-among-goalies-hoping-to-suit-up-for-us-in-2023
  3. USA Lacrosse. https://www.usalacrosse.com/player-profile/blaze-riorden
  4. Powell Lacrosse, (2023). Both Sides Of The Ball. Powell Lacrosse. https://www.powelllacrosse.com/blogs/journal/both-sides-of-the-ball
  5. Talk, Pro Lacrosse (2021-09-18). "2021 PLL Awards: Blaze Riorden Becomes Second Goaltender to Win MVP". Pro Lacrosse Talk. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  6. "Greg Cattrano Rooting For Blaze Riorden to Join Exclusive MVP Club: 'He's a Field General'". www.insidelacrosse.com. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  7. "Blaze Riorden - 2016 - Men's Lacrosse". University at Albany Great Danes. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  8. KEKIS, JOHN (2016-05-04). "Goalie Blaze Riorden a key to Albany Great Danes' success". AP News.
  9. "Team USA's Blaze Riorden: Uncaged". www.usalaxmagazine.com. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  10. "UAlbany alums to play in elite lacrosse event". Times Union. 2019-07-26. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  11. "U.S. Downs Czech Republic to Advance to World Indoor Semifinals". www.usalaxmagazine.com. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  12. "Blaze Riorden, Kevin Cooper: MLL Players of the Week". Lacrosse All Stars. 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  13. "Blaze Riorden". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  14. "PLL All Star Team Roster Determined Through Captains Draft". Lacrosse All Stars. 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  15. Twitter https://twitter.com/premierlacrosse/status/1428456853965443075. Retrieved 2021-08-24. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. "Blaze Riorden: Bringing the Butterfly to Lacrosse". Premier Lacrosse League. 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  17. "Blaze Riorden: Bringing the Butterfly to Lacrosse". Premier Lacrosse League. 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
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