Barrage game day preview
Published on June 11, 2004 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Philadelphia Barrage News Release
Season Recap: Despite the Barrage's first three losses of the season, they are still hopeful for a successful 2004 season. Miller leads the team with a total of 12 points (9g, 3a), while Liam Banks leads the team in assists with a total of 7. Banks also is in second place in the league The new additions to the defensive side of midfield Goalie Greg Cattrano, and Defensemen Brian Kuczma and Brian Spallina have all been doing a solid job below the fifty, along with the newest addition to the midfield, Mike Mollot, who was acquired through a trade in the 2004 Collegiate draft from Rochester. In last Sunday's game against Long Island, Mollot showed Philadelphia exactly what he knew how to do tallying 2 goals for the night. Despite the 0-3 start, the Barrage is only one point behind in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs.
Roster Update: Long after the players and teams left Sacred Heart University on June 3rd, Sal LoCascio and Rochester's BJ O'Hara were still hard at work finishing the 2004 Collegiate Draft. Originally the Barrage had selected Tillman Johnson, an outstanding goalie that graduated from Virginia, with the third overall pick. Immediately following the draft, LoCascio and O'Hara began negations, and when all was said and done the Barrage ended up with Ryan Boyle, a four time All American from Princeton and Mike Mollot (midfielder), a one year veteran of the MLL. The Barrage also picked up Conor Ford in the 2nd round (7th overall) who led the Johns Hopkins attack this past season with 44 goals and 9 assists. Ben DeFelice, one of the top faceoff midfielders in the NCAA is also a new member on the Barrage roster. He won over 65% of his faceoffs this past season. Greg Bice, the first native Texan drafted into the MLL, was an outstanding Defenseman for the Ohio State Buckeyes. At 6'3'' and 220 lbs he will be a strong presence on the defense. Andrew Roth comes from Cortland where he earned Division III first-team All American status. Roth led Cortland with 8 man-up goals. The Barrage expects to dress at least one of their draft picks for Sunday's game. Ryan Boyle will not be able to play for a few weeks because of previous obligations to play in Japan with Princeton.
New Faces: Conor Ford was activated this week, after being selected in the 2004 Collegiate Draft, placing him on the 18-man roster for Saturday's game against New Jersey. Ford helped Hopkins to the final four again this year, and we expect him to make an immediate impact on the attack. The Barrage also claimed Chris Rogler this week, a former member of the Barrage. Justin Cynar and Nick Russo were placed on the 7-man practice squad, while Brady Miller and Tim Knowles were released from the practice squad.
Behind the Arc: As a team, the Barrage are one of the top 2-point scoring threats in Major League Lacrosse. Last season, the team led the league in 2-point goals scored with 15. The team has developed four threats from outside the 15-yard mark: Colsey (5), Shanahan (4), Cromwell (3) and Springer (3) all accounted for multiple 2-point goals in 2003. In last Saturday nights game (5/29) vs. the Rattlers, Roy Colsey and Keith Cromwell both scored their first 2-point goals of the season. Colsey has scored a total of 116 points (76g, (18 2pt), 22a) in his four-year career with the Barrage. He only needs one more 2-point goal to tie for first place in the overall career 2-point goals scored. The Barrage are also doing a great job defending the shots from behind the arc; they have only let 2 2-point goals in so far this season (Jesse Hubbard of NJ and Pat Dutton of Rochester).
Feature Match Up: It has been said that one sure way to win a game is by winning ground balls. Philadelphia's Doug Shanahan and New Jersey's Dan Chemotti have been doing the "dirty work" on both their teams, leading in groundballs. Because of Shanahan's hard play, he has been able to scoop up 20 groundballs in the past three games. Chemotti has racked up 14 groundballs, but needs to keep working hard because teammates Scott Urick and Joey Ghedina are close behind with 13 ground balls a piece. Approaching Milestones: Attackman Keith Cromwell needs just six points to attain his 100th, (52g (5 2pt), 34a) a goal that should be attained by the time the Barrage face the Baltimore Bayhawks on June 19th at Villanova Stadium. The 2001 MLL Rookie of the Year has scored 30 or more points in each of the last two seasons. Cromwell will not be dressing for the June 12th game vs. New Jersey due to personal responsibilities.
The Face-off Factor: Barrage Midfielder Doug Shanahan is a do-everything type of player, and this includes the face-off duties. In his rookie season of 2003, Shanahan finished with a 52.2 face-off percentage, winning 154 of 295 face-offs. Last time Shanahan faced New Jersey, he was up against Joe Ghedina for the draw. Shanahan won 13-25 faceoffs, while Ghedina won 12 out of the 23 he took. This Sunday's game should be another fierce match-up. Although Ghedina was Shanahan's competitor last time the two teams met, Ghedina was injured in New Jersey's game vs. Baltimore and is now on the 30-day injured list. Shanahan is now going to be up against Eric Wedin. New Jersey recently acquired Wedin from Boston in this year's Supplemental Draft. Before Wedin played for Boston, he was Long Island's primary face-off midfielder when the Lizards won the Championship in the first year of the league. This will be a test of a face-off veteran (Wedin) against a face-off midfielder with experience (Shanahan), but not as many years or wins as Wedin. Shanahan's winning percentage for this season is 42.9, and his overall career winning percentage is 50.4. In the 2004 Collegiate Draft, the Barrage also picked up one of the best faceoff guys in the NCAA. Ben DeFelice from Towson will be sharing the duties with Shanahan. Players of the Week: Michael Springer was the Barrage's Offensive Player of the Week. In last Sunday's game against Long Island, Springer tallied 6 points (4g, 2a), leading the offense in points. Springer is tied for third place on the Barrage for total points with 8. The Defensive Player of the Week was Greg Cattrano. Cattrano had a tough match-up competing for the spotlight against the number one MLL goalie, Brian Dougherty last week against Long Island, but he met his challenge. He stayed focused and poised and did an excellent job keeping the Barrage in the game with a total of 21 saves.
The Task Ahead: The Barrage will be looking to take New Jersey's "pride" this Saturday when they face them for the second time of the season. A new member of the Barrage, Conor Ford of Johns Hopkins, will be helping the Barrage in an attempt to defeat New Jersey. Philadelphia wants their first win, and would love to be able to achieve it on New Jersey's home field! The Pride's momentum has slowed down due to a two game losing streak. Despite the streak, Adam Doneger and Jesse Hubbard are trying to keep the Pride fire alive. Against Baltimore last week, Hubbard totaled 9 points (6g, 2 2pt, 1a) while Doneger tallied 3 points (1 2pt g, 1a). Trevor Tierney is also fighting hard, saving a total of 23 shots vs. Baltimore. If the Barrage can stop these three players, it will be the key to their success.
Last Time They Met: The New Jersey Pride defeated the Barrage last time they met, May 22nd, 2004. The Barrage were led by Liam Banks who had 6 points (6a) and Blake Miller who tallied 5 points (4g, 1a) for the game. New to the Pride, Adam Doneger helped New Jersey defeat Philadelphia dumping in 5 goals and an assist, as well as Jesse Hubbard who contributed 4 points (4g). Doug Shanahan had a great night on the draw, winning 13 of the 15 faceoffs.
League Leaders: Currently the Barrage's Liam Banks is tied for second place with Mark Millon (Baltimore) and Ryan Powell (Rochester) for the league leader in assists with 7. Philadelphia leads the league in penalty kill percentage with 85.7 (12/14).
Major League Lacrosse Stories from June 11, 2004
- Barrage game day preview - Philadelphia Barrage
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