Cannons Host San Francisco Saturday at 7PM
June 16, 2006 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Boston Cannons News Release
Boston, MA (June 16, 2006) - The Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) return from the west coast this week to take on the expansion San Francisco Dragons at Nickerson Field on Saturday, June17 at 7:00 PM (EST). This is the fifth game of the season for the Cannons and the fourth game for the Dragons. The Cannons will provide local media outlets with a complete post-game summary following the conclusion of Saturday's contest.
Boston will be without midfielder Mike Battista. Battista is suffering from concussion symptoms and will not be in uniform.
San Francisco has an explosive offense, scoring an average of 18.67 goals per game to lead the league. On the other hand, Boston has been tough on defense all season long, allowing only 12.25 goals per game.
Boston comes into the weekend with an overall record of 3-1, while the Dragons enter with a record of 2-1.
In Los Angeles, the Cannons enjoyed their third straight win of the season. Boston handily defeated the expansion Los Angeles Riptide by a score of 20-13. Boston's midfielders once again lit up the scoreboard, but the highlight of the game was the performance of rookie midfielder Matt Poskay, the Cannons recent first pick in the 2006 MLL Collegiate Draft. Playing in his first MLL game since being drafted, Poskay netted his first career goal in the second period and added three more in the fourth. Poskay was named MLL Cascade Rookie of the Week.
Conor Gill had two goals and three assists versus the Riptide. Gill is currently tied for second in the league in scoring with 18 points. Mike Battista also had a five-point night, scoring four goals, including his second two-pointer of the season. Last year, Battista led the Cannons with five two-point goals.
John Christmas had a goal and three assists and is currently tied with Mike Battista for second on the team in scoring with 13 points. Chazz Woodson, Billy Glading, Dave Evans, Chris Fiore, and Drew Pfarr also scored in the Cannons victory. Also in the game, midfielder Dave Jenkins went 14-32 at the face-off X to break the Cannons face-off wins record that had previously been held by Peter Inge, who now plays for the San Francisco Dragons. Earlier this season, Jenkins also broke Inge's Cannons records for face-off attempts and for groundballs.
Despite the success of the men up front, the contribution of the Cannons defense should not be overlooked. Chris Passavia, Jamie Hanford, Ryan Curtis, and John Glatzel have played in all four games this season and they have not allowed more than 13 goals in a game. Despite being down a man on four occasions against Los Angeles, the Cannons defense did not yield and the Riptide went 0-4 on the power-play. For the season, the Cannons have an 80% penalty killing record. Brian Nee and Sean Lindsay were the only Riptide players who were able to collect more than two points against the Cannons. Boston's defense will certainly be busy against the Dragons, but they have proven that they are up to the challenge.
With the win in Los Angeles, Chris Garrity earned Bud Light MVP honors for the second time this season. Garrity made 21 saves on 34 shots in Boston's 20-13 victory over L.A. Garrity came up big late in the game, making 15 saves on 22 shots in the second-half alone.
San Francisco has been one of the surprises coming out of the Western Conference. The Dragons are coached by Brian Silcott, who played for the Cannons from 2002-2004 and was also a Co-Captain. Silcott comes to the Dragons from the New Jersey Pride, where he took over as head coach for the final five games of New Jersey's 2005 season. After dropping their first game of the season, the Dragons have put together impressive back-to-back wins to bring their record to 2-1. Last week, San Francisco avenged their Week One loss to Denver by destroying the Outlaws by a score of 25-17.
San Francisco's offensive explosion was led by a 12-point performance from former Rochester Rattler's star Ryan Powell. Powell's nine goals tie the league record for most goals by an individual in a game. Powell was named Week Four MLL Offensive Player of the Week.
Recent draft pick Joe Yevoli has also been finding the back of the net for the Dragons. In two games for the Dragons this season, Yevoli already has five goals and four assists. He was also a big contributor in the Denver game, netting a hat-trick and two assists. Brad Reppert and Matt Alrich are the only attackers who have played in all three games for the Dragons this season, and they have 10 points and 6 points respectively this season.
The Dragons midfielders have put up big numbers this season as well. Against Denver, Tom Zummo had two goals, including a two-pointer, and one assist. Former Cannons player Chris Rotelli had a hat-trick against the Outlaws and has six points this season. Boston fans will also be familiar with two other Dragons midfielders, as former Cannons players Jarett Park and Peter Inge now suit up for San Francisco. Inge is 30-71 on face-offs this season. Midfielder Tim Booth has also taken a number of face-offs for San Francisco and is 16-31.
It's no surprise that San Francisco's defense gets in on the scoring as well. Defensemen Steve Holmes, Eric Martin, and Trey Whitty have all contributed at least one assist this season. In three games this season, the Dragons have allowed an average of 13 goals per game.
San Francisco's goalie Alex Cade, a former Cannons back-up goalie, has a 13.18 goals-against-average and a .578 save percentage.
The Cannons will be back at Nickerson Field on Saturday, June 24 to face the Philadelphia Barrage at 7:00 PM.
Cannons Game Five Notes:
Midfielder Dave Jenkins broke Peter Inge's Cannons face-off wins record...The Dragons have 7 players on their roster who have been a member of the Cannons organization...they are goalie Alex Cade, midfielder Graham Davidson, midfielder Peter Inge, midfielder Jim Mormile, midfielder Jarett Park, midfielder Chris Rotelli, defenseman Trey Whitty...San Francisco coach Brian Silcott also played with the Cannons for four season...Silcott is one of two African-Americans coaching in the MLL...the other being Boston coach Bill Daye...Chris Garrity earned Bud Light MVP honors last week for the second time in three weeks...Midfielder Matt Poskay was named MLL Cascade Rookie of the Week for his four goal performance in his first MLL game...This is the first-ever meeting between the Cannons and the Dragons.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from June 16, 2006
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- Cannons Host San Francisco Saturday at 7PM - Boston Cannons
- Battle to win: Machine vs. Riptide - Chicago Machine
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