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LA Riptide Semifinal Preview

August 23, 2007 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Los Angeles Riptide News Release


CARSON, CALIFORNIA - Thursday, August 23, 2007 - The Western Conference Champion Los Angeles Riptide (9-3) of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) will look for a victory in their first-ever postseason appearance as they take on the Rochester Rattlers (9-3) at PAETEC Park in Rochester, New York, on Saturday, August 25 at 5 p.m. (ET)

RIPTIDE IN 2007: The Riptide completed their second season as a franchise in 2007 as the Western Conference Champions, and their impressive record of 9-3 tied for the best in the league. The Riptide's record-setting season was highlighted by a six-game winning streak from June 16-July 28, which helped the team clinch a playoff spot on July 28 with two games still remaining on the regular season schedule. The Riptide and Rattlers have only met once before in their history with Rochester posting a 16-13 victory at The Home Depot Center on June 3, 2006.

RIPTIDE'S LAST GAME RECAP (AUGUST 11 VS. CHICAGO): Attackman Michael Watson scored the game winner at 2:54 of overtime to give the Riptide a come-from-behind 14-13 victory over the Chicago Machine before a crowd of 3,895 at The Home Depot Center on August 11. Bud Light MVP/midfielder Graham Gill, who finished with a team-leading five goals and six points, scored the goal that sent the game to overtime with 16 seconds remaining on the fourth quarter clock. The Riptide were outscored 6-1 in the opening quarter, but they opened the second quarter with four straight goals to shrink the Machine's lead to 6-5. Chicago survived the Riptide second quarter surge by scoring three of the last four goals to take a 9-6 lead into halftime. Attackman/midfielder Spencer Ford, Watson and Gill all had goals in the third quarter for the Riptide, while holding Chicago to two goals in the quarter, giving the visitors an 11-9 advantage. The Machine opened a 13-9 fourth quarter lead, but the Riptide rallied with four straight goals to send the game to overtime. Riptide midfielder Matt Casey had two of the goals - one at 5:50 and one at 12:10, and Watson's second goal of the game pulled the Riptide to within one goal at 12:52, setting up Gill's fifth goal of the game and 27th goal on the season at 14:44 of the quarter.

ROCHESTER'S LAST GAME RECAP (AUGUST 11 VS. BOSTON): Attackman John Grant, Jr. scored seven goals and added three assists to set the MLL single-season points record as the Rochester Rattlers ended the regular season with their ninth win in the last 10 games, a 20-10 victory over the Boston Cannons at PAETEC Park on August 11. Grant, who was named as the Bud Light MVP for the third time this season, ended the season with 71 points, eclipsing the previous league record of 70 points, which was set by Rochester attackman Casey Powell in 2003. While Grant led all players with 10 points, Powell added six goals and two assists for the Rattlers. Rochester attackman Jeff Zywicki posted a three-goal, two-assist effort. Attackman Mikey Powell led Boston in the loss with three goals.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: With a win on Saturday against Rochester, the Riptide will play the winner of the Semifinal game between No. 1 Philadelphia and No. 4 Denver for the NB Zip MLL Championship on Sunday... The Riptide finished the season unbeaten (6-0) in all games played on their home turf at The Home Depot Center this season...Riptide attackman/midfielder Spencer Ford set a new MLL-record with 47 assists this season and he finished the season with 16 more assists than the next closest player in the league standings. In addition, Ford's 60 total points (13-47=60) ranked second overall in the circuit...The Riptide established three team records in 2007. Their win versus San Francisco on July 28 gave the Riptide a six-game winning streak for the first time in franchise history and their victory over Chicago in the final game of the season on August 11 gave the team a franchise-high nine wins in one season. The Riptide also set a franchise record for goals in one game when they defeated Chicago by a score of 21-13 on June 23...Riptide goalie Mickey Jarboe finished the season tied for the league lead with nine wins, and he led the league in both goals-against-average (11.11) and save-percentage (.592)...The Riptide finished the 2007 season with the lowest total of goals allowed among all MLL teams with 138 for an average of 11.5 per game.

RIPTIDE ON TV: If the Riptide advance to the NB Zip MLL Championship Game on August 26 at 1 p.m. (ET), they will be part of the live broadcast of the game on ESPN2 HD. The semifinal games, which are scheduled for Saturday, August 25 at 2 p.m. (ET) and 5 p.m. (ET), will air on ESPN360 at ESPN360.COM.

MULTIMEDIA: For a comprehensive preview of Saturday's Semifinal game between the Riptide and Rochester, visit the following link at LARIPTIDE.COM:

http://lariptide.com.ismmedia.com/ISM2//pdfs/07_postseason_guide.pdf

For NB Zip MLL Championship Weekend ticket information, visit the official MLL website at MAJORLEAGUELACROSSE.COM or call 1-585-454-5425.

For more information, visit LARIPTIDE.COM or call 1-866-4-LAX-TIX.

2007 L.A. RIPTIDE SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Time (PT) Result

Saturday, May 19 @ Chicago Machine 5:00 PM 20-14 Win

Sunday, May 27 New Jersey Pride 7:00 PM 15-9 Win

Saturday, June 2 @ Boston Cannons 4:00 PM 19-14 Loss

Saturday, June 9 @ Denver Outlaws 5:00 PM 18-15 Loss

Saturday, June 16 @ San Francisco Dragons 1:00 PM 14-13 Win

Saturday, June 23 Chicago Machine 5:00 PM 21-13 Win

Saturday, June 30 San Francisco Dragons 5:00 PM 16-12 Win

Saturday, July 14 Denver Outlaws 5:00 PM 17-5 Win

Saturday, July 21 @ Washington Bayhawks 1:00 PM 19-5 Win

Saturday, July 28 San Francisco Dragons 7:00 PM 20-11 Win

Saturday, August 4 @ Denver Outlaws 5:00 PM 11-10 Loss

Saturday, August 11 Chicago Machine 4:00 PM 14-13 Win (OT)

About the L.A. Riptide

The Los Angeles Riptide, southern California's newest professional sports franchise, began its inaugural season in May of 2006, as a member of the 10-team Major League Lacrosse (MLL) league. The AEG-owned and operated team, based at The Home Depot Center's 10,000-seat track & field complex, will provide fun and affordable family entertainment, showcasing America's fastest-growing team sport, in addition to becoming the foremost resource for the lacrosse community.



Major League Lacrosse Stories from August 23, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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