Bridgeport Barrage Game Preview
Published on May 30, 2002 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Philadelphia Barrage News Release
BARRAGE AT A GLANCE: The Bridgeport Barrage are set to begin season after going 3-11 during the inaugural 2001 MLL season. The Barrage are poised to make a run at the MLL Championship under first-year head coach Sal LoCascio. It was LoCascio in goal who led the Long Island Lizards to inaugural MLL Championship. LoCascio now finds himself standing on the opposite sideline in the role of head coach. The Barrage return the entire starting defense including goalie Jim Mule and his first line of defense, Mario Lopez, Harold Drumm and Jamie Hanford. The Barrage have bolstered the offense with a pair of MLL All-Stars, attackman Dan Denihan (20g, 25a) and midfield, face-off specialist Andy Towers (7g, 1a), both of whom were acquired through off-season trades. On offense, Bridgeport also returns Roy Colsey (25g, 11a), Matt Panetta (33g, 7a), Blake Miller (19g, 10a), Jim Gonnella (12g, 16a) and Brian Langtry (18g, 7a). Last year's two top collegiate draft selections, Keith Cromwell (15g, 6a) and Matt Striebel (4g, 8a) figure to make a greater impact with their first professional season under their belts.
NEW FACES: The Bridgeport Barrage have four new players on the active roster who were not with the team last season. The Barrage acquired two MLL All-Stars in Andy Towers (Boston Cannons) and Dan Denihan (Baltimore Bayhawks) through a pair of off-season trades. Bridgeport also picked up Todd Eichelberger (Princeton, 1997) and Mark Spruyt (Hofstra 1998) from the MLL Player Pool.
Series Summary: Last season, three of the four Barrage-Lizards showdowns were decided by just a single goal. In each contest the team who outscored the other in the fourth quarter won the game. Overall the Lizards held an 18-12 advantage in the final quarter of play. The Barrage were victimized by the scoring of Terry Riordan (15g) in their first three meetings, before holding him scoreless in their final meeting on 8/11/01 (17-16 L). Casey Powell (10g, 7a) notched at least four points in each of the four games vs. the Barrage. For Bridgeport, Matt Panetta (9g, 3a), Roy Colsey (7g, 2a, three two-point goals), Keith Cromwell (3g, 5 a), Jim Gonnella (5g, 5a) and Brian Lantry (6g, 1a) led the Barrage scoring attack. In the crease, Jim Mule was stellar in goal, making 51 saves in three games, including taking home BUD Light MVP honors in the Barrage 13-12 win on 7/12/01. Mule missed last year's first meeting between the Barrage and Lizards to be with his wife Jamie who gave birth to their second son, Christian.
ROSTER MOVES: The Bridgeport Barrage have placed Pat McGinnis (Maryland, 2001), Chris Rogler (Hofstra 1999), Rich Langtry (Hofstra 1997) and Dave Kotowski (Brown, 1989) on the reserve squad. They have also placed Scott Hochstadt (Maryland, 2000), Kevin Rooney (NY Tech, 2001) and Brian Piccola (Johns Hopkins, 1995) on the injured reserve.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from May 30, 2002
- Bridgeport Barrage Game Preview - Philadelphia Barrage
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