Alex Smith Named MLL Defensive Player Of The Week
Published on August 11, 2008 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Dallas Rattlers News Release
(Rochester, NY)... Major League Lacrosse, the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, announced Monday its weekly award winners for the week ending August 10th, according to MLL Commissioner David Gross.
Rochester Rattlers midfielder/face-off specialist Alex Smith earned the league's Defensive Player of the week award while Washington Bayhawks attackman Andrew "Buggs" Combs was selected as the Offensive Player of the Week.
In addition, San Francisco Dragons goalkeeper Matt Vallone was honored as the Goalkeeper of the Week while New Jersey Pride midfielder Stephen Peyser received the Cascade Rookie of the Week honor.
Smith won 23 of 34 face-offs and had eight ground balls as the Rochester Rattlers clinched the top seed in the upcoming NB Zip MLL Championship Weekend with a 19-15 victory over the Chicago Machine at TOYOTA Park on Sunday afternoon. With his 23 face-off victories, Smith set the MLL single-season record for face-off wins.
Named as the 2007 Cascade MLL Rookie of the Year, Smith finished the season with 249 face-off victories, which eclipsed the previous record of 244 held by Long Island Lizards midfielder Peter Vlahakis. Vlahakis captured the record over the weekend from former Baltimore Bayhawks midfielder Paul Cantabene during the 2004 season. Smith also finished the year with a .630 face-off win percentage, which is the second-highest mark in league history.
Combs scored seven goals as the Washington Bayhawks snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 22-15 victory over the Long Island Lizards on Saturday night. It was the third time this season that the former University of Maryland attackman has scored six or more goals. Combs finished the regular season as the Bayhawks' leading goal scorer, tallying 34 goals with 4 assists in 11 games.
Vallone led the Dragons to a 19-15 victory over the Los Angeles Riptide on Saturday night. He was named as the Bud Light MVP after setting a season high with 21 saves. He made 12 of his 21 saves in the second half, including eight saves in the fourth quarter. Vallone finished the season with a 14.40 goals-against average while stopping 50.0 percent of the shots he faced.
Named as the Cascade Rookie of the Week for the second time in three weeks, Peyser scored four goals to lead the New Jersey Pride to their third straight win, a 17-16 overtime victory over the two-time defending MLL champion Philadelphia Barrage on Saturday night. The win allowed the Pride to finish with a .500 record for the first time since 2003. Honored as the Bud Light MVP, Peyser finished the season with 19 goals and 2 assists in 10 games.
Fans have the opportunity to watch Smith capture the single-season face-off record as yesterday's final regular season game between Rochester and Chicago will air tonight at 8:00 p.m. on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26.
The Rochester Rattlers defeated the Chicago Machine 19-15 Sunday afternoon at Toyota Park to secure the No. 1 seed NB ZIP⢠MLL Championship Weekend. It marked the first time in the team's eight-year history that the Rattlers enter the playoffs as the top seed. Rochester (9-3) also tied a franchise record with nine wins.
Rochester will now host the two-time defending champion and No. 4 seed Philadelphia Barrage (7-5) in the first semifinal game in the 2008 NB ZIP⢠MLL Championship Weekend on Saturday, August 23rd at noon. In the other semifinal, the Denver Outlaws (8-4) host the LA Riptide (7-5) on Saturday, August 23rd at 3:00 p.m. The Championship Weekend will be held at Harvard Stadium in Boston on Saturday, August 23rd and Sunday, August 24th.
The two semifinal winners will advance to the NB ZIP MLL Championship Game on Sunday, August 24th. The Championship Game will once again air live on ESPN2 at 1:00 p.m. ESPN2 is also planning on airing one of the semifinal games as well.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from August 11, 2008
- Regy Thorpe to Attend Wing Contest Tuesday - Dallas Rattlers
- Alex Smith Sets New Single Season Face-Off Win Record - MLL
- Alex Smith Named MLL Defensive Player Of The Week - Dallas Rattlers
- Combs, Smith, Vallone, S. Peyser Win Weekly Awards - MLL
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