Dragons announce 2008 roster
May 13, 2008 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
San Francisco Dragons News Release
23 Man Active and 3 Man Practice Roster
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 13, 2008
Burlingame (CA) - The San Francisco Dragons of Major League Lacrosse announced its 23 man active roster and 3 man practice squad roster for the 2008 season, which begins this Sunday, May 17, in Chicago against the Chicago Machine. Returning to the Dragons in 2008 are veteran attackmen Liam Banks (Syracuse) and Jake Byrne (Johns Hopkins). Defensively Eric Martin (Salisbury), Steve Holmes (Virginia) and goalies Matt Vallone (Penn State) and Matt Madalon (Roanoke) all return. At the midfield Jarett Park (Syracuse), Gregg Gurenlian (Penn State), Tim Booth (Hobart), Hunter Lochte (Towson), Chris Keating (Roanoke) and Todd Fairlie (Widener) are all back in 2008.
New to the dragons in 2008 are veteran MLL defenseman Mike Howley (Maryland), midfielder Matt Ogelsby (Duke), defenseman Steve Panarelli (Syracuse) and Kyle Hartzell (Salisbury). Other new faces include attackman David Mitchell (Cornell) and Pat Walsh (Notre Dame), along with midfielders Lewis Ratcliff (Ohio State), Zach Heffner (Virginia), Matt Cassalia (LeMoyne), Ryan Still (Georgetown) and Mike Hurley (Salisbury). The practice roster will include midfielders Garrett Wilson (Georgetown) and Drew Virk (Maryland) and defenseman Brad Patterson (Denver). Missing from the active roster is Chris Rotelli (Virginia) who decided not to play in the 2008 season for personal reasons.
"We had a really solid three weeks of training camp and had a number of very pleasant surprises," commented Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Locker. "Coach Slate and his staff did a phenomenal job selecting the team and preparing them at the same time for the start of the season this Sunday in Chicago" Locker continued.
Following intensive back-to-backs weekends of 2 day training camps which were held on both sides of the country, Philadelphia and San Jose, the coaching staff had a challenging decision in selecting their final roster.
Head Coach Tom Slate made his vision for the team clear: "Our goal for the year is to reach the final four. We want to go to Boston. We'll get there if we have players that know and love their roles, and come out as a team ready to do it all year long."
Managing Partner, Gregg Jacobs, was on hand at the past weekend's training camp at Spartan Stadium (at San Jose State University) which is the Dragons new home for the season. "There's a lot of excitement here. We're excited about the new coach, the new venue, and the new leadership," Jacobs said.
The Dragons play their 2008 home opener on Saturday May 31st vs. the Los Angeles Riptide at 7pm. Media Contact: Heidi Faith San Francisco Dragons 650-386-6746 heidi@sfdragons.com
**** About the San Francisco Dragons The San Francisco Dragons are members of Major League Lacrosse (MLL), a ten-team professional outdoor lacrosse league. The San Francisco Dragons opened their inaugural 2006 season as one of four expansion teams which also included the Chicago Machine, Denver Outlaws and Los Angeles Riptide. These teams combined to make up the MLL's Western Conference. The Dragons played at San Francisco's historic Kezar Stadium for their first two years before moving to the Spartan Stadium at San Jose University for their 2008 season. For more information on the San Francisco Dragons, visit the team website at www.sanfranciscodragons.com. Tickets can be ordered by calling 1-(877) 4-MLL TIX or visiting Ticketmaster. www.tickmaster.com
About Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse, a ten-team professional outdoor lacrosse league, was founded in 1999 by fitness entrepreneur Jake Steinfeld, CEO of Body by Jake Global L.L.C., and founding partners Dave Morrow, a former champion lacrosse player and now CEO of Warrior Lacrosse, a leading global provider of innovative and high performance lacrosse equipment; Timothy B. Robertson, former CEO of The Family Channel and the current chairman of Bay Shore Enterprises, L.L.C., an investment holding company with activities in international media and Internet technology ventures; and Jim Davis, chairman and CEO of New Balance. The MLL commenced play in June of 2001. The MLL is comprised of two conferences. The Eastern Conference contains the original six teams, Boston, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Rochester and Washington. The Western Conference debuted in the 2006 season with MLL expansion franchises Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Additional league information can be found at www.majorleaguelacrosse.com. ###
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