Barrage Ready for Rattlers
Published on August 1, 2003 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Philadelphia Barrage News Release
Barrage at a Glance: The Bridgeport Barrage are set for third game of the season against the Rochester Rattlers. The Barrage won their first game of the season in an all-around record breaking performance against the Baltimore Bayhawks on July 19. Attackman Dan Denihan has scored at least five points in the his last three consecutive games played including four goals and one assist in the loss to New Jersey Thursday, and setting the Barrage single game assist record with 6 against the Bayhawks on July 19.
Breakout Performance: The Barrage, although 1-8 on the season, are climbing the ranks in the league leader categories as individuals. Attackman Dan Denihan has moved up to eighth overall in the league in points with 36 (18g,18a), along with tallying 18 assists to be ranked fifth in the league. Denihan has also made the top ten in hat tricks with four on the season and power play goals with three. Attackman Keith Cromwell has also been leaving his mark on the leader boards as he too has tallied three power play goals and stands ranked third with three two-point goals. Midfielder Blake Miller, with his two goals in Thursday's game against New Jersey has made his way on to the top ten goal scorers in the league, tied with Josh Coffman of Rochester with 20 goals this season.
The Face-off Factor: Barrage Midfielder Doug Shanahan is leading the cause for Bridgeport and is currently leading the league winning 54% face-offs taken among midfielders that have taken 100 face-offs or more. Midfielder Paul Rao is second on the team (and seventh in the league) winning 36 percent of all face-offs attempted.
Rotelli Rewarded: Barrage Rookie, Chris Rotelli became the only Men's Lacrosse player to be awarded the ACC's Male Athlete of the Year Award. Rotelli, who led the Cavaliers of the University of Virginia to the National Championship this past spring, was the first overall draft pick of the 2003 MLL Collegiate Draft. Rotelli was also named the 2003 recipient of the prestigious Tewaaraton Award. He joins teammate Doug Shanahan, the 2001 Tewaaraton Award winner, as the second Barrage to be recognized as the nations top player. The Barrage are the only team in the MLL to have two Tewaaraton Award winners on their roster.
Take Two: The Barrage have are even in their three year history when playing a second game within two days after a loss. Bridgeport finds themselves 3-3 in that second game, going 2-0 against Baltimore, 1-1 against Boston and 0-2 against New Jersey.
Well Done: Attackman Keith Cromwell was named the MLL Co-Offensive Player of the week for his stellar performance against the Baltimore Bayhawks on July 19 in which he scored a career high eight points on four goals (two 2pt) and two assists. Cromwell was the first Barrage player to earn Bud Lite MVP honors this season for his impressive showing. Cromwell scored four goals in back-to-back games for the Barrage (7/12 and 7/19). He now ranks just under Dan Denihan with 28 points (14g (3 2pt) 11a) this season. Against the Long Island Lizards on July 12, Keith tied a season high with four goals in the one-point loss to the Lizards, an accomplishment that earned him New Balance Sportsman of the Game honors.
Polanco Power: Defensman Nicky Polanco was named the MLL Defensive Player of the Week after holding Baltimore's leading scorer Mark Millon (48 pts. (32g, 16a)) to one goal in Bridgeport's first win of the season on July 19. Nicky scored his third goal of his MLL career, and first of the 2003 season against the New Jersey Pride on Thursday night. Polanco has started every game for the Barrage this season, in his second year playing in the MLL.
Getting Recognition: Barrage Rookie, Matt Hunter received Cascade MLL Rookie of the Week honors after posting the highest save total of any MLL goalie this season with 29 saves in his MLL debut starting between the posts in the one-goal loss to Long Island on July 12. Hunter also earned his first win as a professional against the Baltimore Bayhawks on July 19 with 16 saves. The Bridgeport Barrage acquired the 2003 Division II Player of the Year from the Player Pool just before their game against the New Jersey Pride on June 14. Hunter led the New York Institute of Technology to the Division II National Championships behind a flawless 14-0 record while only allowing an average of 7.76 goals per game his senior year. Hunter is also ranked fourth in Division II Lacrosse with a .645 save percentage.
Sweet Skills: The Barrage are pleased to hear that Kyle Sweeney has recovered from a broken ankle sustained during his senior season at Georgetown. Sweeney scored his first MLL point against the Rochester Rattlers on July 24 as he assisted Blake Miller's goal in the third quarter. Sweeney, who was selected as a STX/USILA All-American three times as a Hoya, was Bridgeport's third pick in the 2003 Collegiate Draft. Sweeney's quickness and stick skills are a welcome addition to the Barrage defense. At Georgetown he led the Hoyas all-time with 229 ground balls and served as their tri-captain for the 2003 season. Kyle, who played as a long stick midfielder, led his team to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament where the Hoyas met the Cavaliers of Virginia, the eventual National Champions.
One Hundred Plus: Attackman Dan Denihan holds the distinction of being the first Barrage player to attain his 100th career regular season point in the MLL. Denihan currently has 128 points (60g (1 2pt), 67a), after his breakout performance against the Long Island Lizards on June 26, when he tied his 2002 season high with seven points (4g, 3a). Denihan scored a season high eight points against the Bayhawks on July 19 in Bridgeport's first win of the season, with a team high 6 assists. Dan spent the first season with the Baltimore Bayhawks where he scored 20 goals and 25 assists for Baltimore.
Approaching Milestones: Midfielder Roy Colsey is currently at Denihan's heels and needs just four points to attain his 100th, (63g (14 2pt), 19a) a goal that should be attained by the time the Barrage face the Rochester Rattlers at Kearney Field on August 2.
Springing into Action: Barrage rookie, Michael Springer was named the MLL Cascade Rookie of the Week after his impressive performance against the New Jersey Pride on June 14. Springer led all Barrage scorers against the Pride with three points, including his first two-point goal of his career. Springer currently leads all Collegiate Picks on the Barrage in points with nineteen (13g (2 2pt), 4a). While at Syracuse Springer was a four-time All-American and the Orangemen's leading goal scorer in 2003 with 36 goals and second overall with 60 points (adding 24a). Springer leaves Syracuse ranked third on the school's all-time goals list (159), compiling a total of 229 career points (159g, 70a), ranking him ninth on the all-time scoring list.
Behind the Arc: The Barrage as a team are ranked second in the league, behind Boston, with 10 2003 two-point goals. Midfielder Roy Colsey leads the Barrage with 14 career two-point goals, seven of which have come against the Long Island Lizards. Attackman Keith Cromwell became the only Barrage attackman to score two 2-pt goals in a game against the Baltimore Bayhawks on July 19, which brought his career total to four all-time. Attackman Michael Springer, along with Midfielder, Doug Shanahan recently became the only other Barrage players to score more than one two-point goal, as Springer's came against Long Island on June 26, and Shanahan's third came against the Rattlers on July 24. All four players are ranked within the top ten in the league in the category with Cromwell and Shanahan tied for third with three, and Springer and Colsey tied for sixth with two.
Dan's the Man: Attackman Dan Denihan has come out of his shell and has scored a combined 29 points (16g, 13a) in his last five games played. Denihan currently leads the Barrage with 36 (18g, 18a) total 2003 points. Denihan was added to the 2003 MLL All-Star Roster, and made his third appearance of his career.
All-Star Midfield: The core of the Barrage offense has come from their midfielders this season. Among the top scorers on the team are the three starting Bridgeport midfielders, Doug Shanahan (23pts (17g (3 2pt) 3a), Blake Miller (21pts (18g, 3a)), and Roy Colsey (17pts (12g (2 2pt)3a)), all of which were selected to play in the 2003 MLL All-Star Game.
The Task Ahead: The Barrage are looking for their second win of the season against the Rochester Rattlers at Kearney Field, who are led by Casey Powell (47pts (21g, 1 2-pt, 25a)), Gewas Schindler (19pts (17g, 2a)) and Josh Coffman (27pts (20g, 7a)).
Last Time They Met: The First Time Around: The Rochester Rattlers defeated the Barrage 23-13 at Kearney Field in front of 1,977 fans. The downpour that lasted the duration of the game made for an interesting season opener. Both teams seamed evenly matched as the third quarter started out as both teams exchanged goals, this back and forth flow continued until deep into the quarter as MLL Rookie Michael Springer scored his first goal as a member of the Barrage, unassisted at 11:27, leaving Bridgeport down by only one goal, with the score 14-13. That was the closest the Barrage would get as the Rattlers, led by Schindler (5g, 2a) would score 3 of the nine unanswered goals in the second half of the third quarter and into the fourth for Rochester, with the final score 23-13.
The Second Time Around: The Rochester Rattlers defeated the Barrage 21-19 at Harbor Yard in front of 3,124 fans. Rochester's Josh Coffman was named the BUD Light MVP after leading all scorers with seven points, six goals and one assist. The Barrage were led by Dan Denihan and Blake Miller who both had three goals and one assist. Rochester started out early with a 8-0 run to begin the first quarter with a pair of goals coming from attackman Josh Coffman, and Ryan Powell found three different Rattlers in front of the goal for his first three points of the game.
Rochester's Gewas Schindler found himself ejected from the game after using a non-Warrior stick leaving Bridgeport a man-up for three minutes and leaving Rochester without one of their highest scorers for the rest of the game. Bridgeport scored their first two goals of the game during the New Balance Power Play. Rochester only had 14 of their 18 men available for the duration of the game after three injuries left the Rattlers struggling to fill positions.
The game saw five ties as both teams turned on the offense in the third quarter. The Barrage outscored the Rattlers for the second consecutive quarter in the third as Blake Miller (3g, 1a) contributed two of the five goals scored for Bridgeport. Rochester broke a four game losing streak as the Barrage fell to 1-7 on the season.
BRIDGEPORT BARRAGE FALL TO THE ROCHESTER RATTLERS, 21-19
(Bridgeport, CT, July 24, 2003) - The Bridgeport Barrage, Connecticut's only Major League Lacrosse Team, fell to the Rochester Rattlers, 21-19, on Thursday evening in front of 3,124 fans at Harbor Yard.
Rochester started out early with a 8-0 run to begin the first quarter with a pair of goals coming from attackman Josh Coffman, and Ryan Powell found three different Rattlers in front of the goal for his first three points of the game.
Rochester's Gewas Schindler found himself ejected from the game after using a non-Warrior stick leaving Bridgeport a man-up for three minutes and leaving Rochester without one of their highest scorers for the rest of the game. Bridgeport scored their first two goals of the game during the New Balance Power Play.
The Barrage went on their own scoring run that lasted from the closing minutes of the first quarter and into the second as five different Barrage players scored to outscore the Rattlers 5-0. Bridgeport outscored the Rattlers 10-6 in the second quarter cutting the half time lead to 14-12 Rattlers.
Two timely two-point goals by Bridgeport's Roy Colsey and Doug Shanahan kept the Barrage in striking distance of their second win of the season. Colsey scored his second two-point goal of the 2003 season and is second in the league with fourteen total two-point goals. Shanahan scored his third of the season and his career early in the third quarter.
The game saw five ties as both teams turned on the offense in the third quarter. The Barrage outscored the Rattlers for the second consecutive quarter in the third as Blake Miller (3g, 1a) contributed two of the five goals scored for Bridgeport.
Top performances for the Barrage came from Dan Denihan (3g, 1a) and Blake Miller who both racked up three goals and one assist for Bridgeport. Attackman Keith Cromwell also had two goals and two assists.
Bud Lite MVP Josh Coffman scored a total of 6 goals and one assist for the Rattlers in the win. Rochester broke a four game losing streak as the Barrage fell to 1-7 on the season. Casey Powell and John Fay both scored four goals for the Rattlers, leading the team. The Rattlers improved to 6-0 against the Barrage as they have never suffered a loss when playing Bridgeport.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from August 1, 2003
- Barrage Ready for Rattlers - Philadelphia Barrage
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