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, captaining both teams.[2][3] In the PLL, he has won three consecutive 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 one of the greatest goalies of all time, and the most successful goalie of his generation.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
Early life and career
Riorden was raised in Fairport, New York, the son of Mike and Jeannie Riorden. He has one brother, Connor.[10][11] 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.[12][10]
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.[10]
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.[12]
Riorden was named captain of the Wings ahead of the 2023-24 season.[3]
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.[13][14]
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.[15]
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.[16] In 2021, he was named as a captain for the All-Star Game,[17] though he was ultimately unable to participate due to injury. He was also a finalist for the Jim Brown MVP Award.[18]
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.[19] 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.[20]
