L.A. Riptide weekly update
Published on July 25, 2006 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Los Angeles Riptide News Release
L.A. RIPTIDE VISIT CHICAGO MACHINE, SATURDAY, JULY 29: The Riptide returns to Chicago this week to complete the season series against the Machine. The Riptide won the first two games of the series against Chicago on June 24 and July 1. The Riptide look to sweep on Saturday, July 29 at 2:00 p.m. (CT) at the Sports Complex of Benedictine University. The game can be seen on ESPN2 on Tuesday, August 1 at 3:30 p.m. (PT).
COMBS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Riptide attackman Andrew "Buggs" Combs was named MLL Offensive Player of the Week for week nine. On Sunday, in the Riptide's 15-11 victory at San Francisco, Combs scored six goals and added one assist. That was in addition to the two goals that Combs scored the day before in the Riptide's 17-10 victory over San Francisco at the Home Depot Center. Combs continues to contribute to the Riptide offense. He has scored 14 goals and registered one assist since being acquired by the Riptide in a June 13, 2006 trade with the Rochester Rattlers. Combs was also selected Bud Light MVP on July 23.
GOOD WEEK: The L.A. Riptide had a good week last week. In danger of being eliminated from playoff contention, the Riptide responded with two much-needed victories to keep its playoff hopes alive. The Riptide won both games of a home-and-home series against San Francisco, with both games being played last week. On Saturday, the Riptide defeated the San Francisco Dragons, 17-10, at the Home Depot Center. On Sunday, the Riptide again defeated the Dragons, this time 15-11 at Kezar Stadium. The Dragons are now two points ahead of the Riptide in the Western Conference.
RIPTIDE MAKING MOVES: On July 11, the Los Angeles Riptide participated in a couple transactions. It began with the team claiming attackman Colin Doyle as a Discovery Player. The Riptide then promptly traded Doyle to the Rochester Rattlers for midfielder J.J. Morrissey. Morrissey was selected 28th overall by the Rattlers in the 2006 Major League Lacrosse Draft, but has not yet seen MLL action. He became the third player who spent time on the Rochester roster this season to be acquired by the Riptide within a month (Buggs Combs on June 13 and Spencer Ford on July 5). Morrissey scored five goals and added six in 2006 for the University of Virginia, helping lead the Cavaliers to the national championship over UMass. He was also third on the team with 62 groundballs. The Riptide also made two additional moves on July 21, activating midfielders Graham Gill and Todd Eichelberger prior to the home-and-home series against the Dragons. Both players contributed in both games against San Francisco.
MORRISSEY DEBUTS FOR THE RIPTIDE: Midfielder J.J. Morrissey made his debut for the Riptide on Saturday, July 22 against the San Francisco Dragons since being acquired in a trade with the Rochester Rattlers on July 11. In his first two games with the Riptide last weekend, Morrissey proved that his reputation as a strong defensive midfielder was well earned. He picked up three groundballs in both games of the home-and-home series against the Dragons.
BLOGGING BICE: Los Angeles Riptide defenseman Greg Bice is now an ESPN.com blogger. ESPN.com is now featuring weekly blogs written by two MLL players, Bice and San Francisco's Trey Whitty. Bice's first two blogs are now up at espn.com now. Keep checking http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/lacrosse/index for Bice's current blog and get some "Bicecream" humor.
VETERAN LEADERSHIP: Veteran MLL attackman Michael Watson continues to lead the Riptide in offense. He had another two multi-goal performance last week against San Francisco. He registered two goals and one assist in the first half of the home-and-home series against San Francisco on Saturday at the Home Depot Center. He followed it up with a hat trick and an assist at San Francisco on Sunday. His 30 points for the season place him firmly in the team's scoring lead. After getting off to a slow start, not scoring any points in the first game of the season on May 27 at Philadelphia, Watson has contributed at least two goals in each subsequent game.
LINDSAY LEADS MIDFIELDERS: Midfielder Sean Lindsay continues his offensive consistency for the Riptide. He scored his third hat trick of the season on Saturday, July 22 against San Francisco. He also picked up his second two-point goal of the season. Lindsay continues to lead all Riptide midfielders in scoring with 24 points (16 goals, 2 two-point goals, 6 assists). He is also second among all Riptide players in scoring. After not scoring any points in the first game of the season, Lindsay has picked up the offense, netting at least one point in each subsequent game this season.
HELP FROM THE ROOKIE: Rookie D.J. Driscoll had the most impressive defensive performance of his young MLL career against the Dragons on July 22. In the 17-10 victory, Driscoll scooped up nine groundballs. He followed that with two groundballs on July 23. He now leads the Riptide with 27 groundballs in just seven games of action. In the team's first-ever Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Collegiate Draft on May 31, the Riptide selected Notre Dame defenseman Driscoll. Driscoll picked up his first MLL assist in the Riptide's first win on June 17 against the Chicago Machine on the game-winning goal scored by Andrew Combs. Driscoll has picked up groundballs in every game he has played in this season. Driscoll, the Great West Defensive Player of the Year in 2006, was selected with the first pick of the second round of the draft.
PLAYOFF FORMAT: Four teams advance to the MLL playoffs. The Eastern Conference and Western Conference leaders advance to the playoffs. There are also two wild card spots, which are won by the two teams with the next best regular season records, regardless of the conference they are in. The conference winner with the best record plays the wild card team with the lesser record in one semi-final game, while the remaining two teams play in the other second semi-final game. The winners of the two semi-final games will play each other in the Championship Game. All three games will be played at the Home Depot Center Track and Field Complex during the New Balance Championship Weekend on Friday, August 25 and Sunday August 27.
WESTERN CONFERENCE OPPONENTS: The Riptide completed its games against Eastern Conference teams early in the season. The first three games were all against teams in the east, leaving all remaining games to be played against the west. The Riptide has one game remaining against Chicago, Denver and San Francisco. This week's opponent, the Chicago Machine, is the only remaining winless team in the league.
WEBSITE FEATURES: Don't miss the two weekly columns on the Riptide's revamped website, www.lariptide.com. Each Monday, look for "Inside the Numbers," written by lacrosse analyst Nick Ammazzalorso. Ammazzalorso takes a look back at the previous game and ahead to next week's game. Each Friday, there's "Shannon's Slant," written by Inside Lacrosse Magazine Assistant Editor Geoff Shannon. Shannon brings you highlights of the past week and his slant on the week ahead, as well as in depth and personal looks at the Riptide's superstars.
2006 RIPTIDE SEASON TICKETS ON SALE: Los Angeles Riptide season tickets for 2006 are on sale. Season ticket packages for the Riptide's inaugural season at the Home Depot Center start at just $96 for adults and $80 for youth (16 & under). For more information or to reserve your seats today, call the Riptide ticket office at 1-866-4-LAX-TIX, or visit the Riptide's website at www.lariptide.com.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from July 25, 2006
- L.A. Riptide weekly update - Los Angeles Riptide
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