BOSTON, MA - Thursday July 29, 2010 - The Boston Cannons (7-3) travel to Denver, CO on Saturday July 31 to face off against the Denver Outlaws (7-3) at 9:00 PM EST at Invesco Field. Both teams clinched a spot in the 2010 Major League Lacrosse Championship Weekend with wins last Saturday and now the #1 seed is on the line when they meet for the third time this season on Saturday night. The 9pm EST game will air live on Comcast Sports Net New England and online at ESPN3.com.The Cannons became the first team to clinch a position in the MLL Championship weekend with their 18-10 victory over the defending champion Toronto Nationals (3-7). The Cannons outscored the Nationals 6-1 in the second quarter to open up a lead they would not relinquish. The rest of the game was all about Matt Poskay's pursuit of the Cannons all-time scoring record. Poskay entered the game 4 shy of David Evans career mark of 133 goals. The Nationals limited Poskay to 1 goal in the first half and it appeared Evans' record would stand for at least one more game. Poskay was finally able to create space, lose defenders and even get lucky bounces to make a charge at the record in the third quarter. Poskay tallied 3 goals in the third, including 2 in the final 10 seconds of the quarter, to tie the Cannons record. After Toronto put on a run of 3 goals to start the final quarter, Poskay made a strong move to the goal and took a feed from Kevin Buchanan and put the record breaker in the back of the net to spark off a celebration. The Cannons faithful all rose to their feet and Poskay's teammates and coaches celebrated the historic goal. Poskay finished with 5 goals and 2 assists on the night and was named Bud Light MVP.
The Cannons and Outlaws have met twice already this season, with the Cannons coming away victorious both time. Each contest took place at the Cannons home field of Harvard Stadium. Both teams have enjoyed the confines of their home turfs throughout the 2010 season. The Cannons have a 5-0 mark at Harvard Stadium and the Outlaws are sitting on a 4-0 record at Invesco Field. The Cannons defeated the Outlaws in the 2010 Season Opener 16-13 behind strong play from veterans Matt Poskay (4 goals, 1 assist), Justin Smith (3 goals) and 1st year Cannon Pat Heim (2 goals). In their second match-up of the season, also at home, the Cannons topped the Outlaws 17-12 behind a combined 13 point performance form Matt Poskay (5 goals, 1 assist) and Paul Rabil (3 goals, 1 two-pointer, 3 assists). These two teams met 3 times last season, including the Championship Weekend Semi-Finals where the Outlaws prevailed 11-10.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Cannons' attackman Matt Poskay is on the doorstep of adding to his already record breaking season. His 39 goals in 2010 have him tied for the single season goals record for the Cannons (Michael Watson '04, Kevin Leveille '05) and he is also tied for the single season Cannons and league record of scoring while on a power play (9 goals). While both teams have clinched playoff berths, they are holding identical 7-3 records, leaving the #1 seed for Championship Weekend up for grabs. The Cannons will hold the season tie-breaker over the Outlaws regardless of Saturday's outcome so Boston can secure the top seed with a win. The Outlaws would not clinch that spot with a win, still needing a win in their regular season finale or a Cannons loss in the final weekend of play.
Group and individual tickets are still available for the Cannons regular season finale on Saturday, August 7. For more information, or to purchase Cannons tickets, visit BOSTONCANNONS.COM or call (617) 746-9933.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from July 29, 2010
• Boston Cannons at Denver Outlaws on Saturday Night - Boston CannonsThe opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
