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Major League Lacrosse Announces 2008 All-MLL Selections

Published on August 19, 2008 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL) News Release


BOSTON, Mass. - Major League Lacrosse, the premier professional lacrosse league, announced Friday the players who have been named to the 2008 All-Major League Lacrosse team, recognizing the best players at each position. Named to the All-MLL team were:

Attack: John Grant, Jr. (Rochester), Kevin Leveille (Chicago), Merrick Thomson (New Jersey) Midfield: Brian Langtry (Denver), Matt Striebel (Philadelphia), Joe Walters (Rochester) Defense: Eric Martin (San Francisco), Brodie Merrill (Rochester), Kyle Sweeney (Philadelphia) Goalkeeper: Mickey Jarboe (Los Angeles), Rob Scherr (New Jersey) Face-off Specialist: Alex Smith (Rochester)

The selections were based on votes submitted by the general managers and head coaches of the ten MLL teams.

Named to the All-MLL team for the second straight year, Grant was honored as the Warrior Offensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row after leading the league in goals and points. He set a Rochester team record with 47 goals while adding 13 assists. He was named as the Offensive Player of the Week three times this year and earned Bud Light MVP honors four times as the Rattlers posted a league-best 9-3 record. Over the last two seasons, Grant has scored 91 goals, including six two-point tallies, with 38 assists. He was a unanimous selection to the All-MLL team.

A unanimous selection to the All-MLL team, Leveille was tied for third in the MLL in scoring with 47 points. He scored 35 goals and added 12 assists for the Machine, which finished with a 3-9 record. In the regular season finale against Rochester, the former University of Massachusetts attackman set an MLL record by scoring a goal in his 48th straight game, eclipsing the mark set by the Rattlers' Grant.

Leveille finished with 30 or more goals for the third time in four seasons and matched a career high with his 12 assists. He was named as the Bud Light MVP on June 29 after a win over the Western Conference champion Denver Outlaws at TOYOTA Park.

Honored as the Warrior Most Improved Player of the Year, Thomson ranked second in the MLL in scoring with 42 goals and 10 assists. He scored three or more goals nine times this season, including a team record-tying seven goals in a 26-20 victory over the Long Island Lizards on July 3. He also added two assists in the victory to equal the New Jersey single-game record with nine points, earning MLL Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Langtry, who helped the Outlaws to an 8-4 record and their second Western Conference championship, was tied with Leveille in scoring with 47 points. He scored 24 goals, including three two-point markers, and tallied 20 assists, marking the 23rd time in league history that a player has scored 20 goals and tallied 20 assists in the same season. Named to the Western Conference All-Star Team, he was named as the Offensive Player of the Week on June 18 after a four-goal, two-assist performance against the San Francisco Dragons.

Named to the All-MLL Team for the second consecutive season, Striebel ranked second on the Barrage in scoring with 42 points, scoring a career-best 31 goals with 11 assists. He ranked third among midfielders in both categories. Striebel scored a season-high four goals four times, including the season finale against New Jersey when he tallied four goals with two assists. Over the last three seasons, he has scored 79 goals while helping the Barrage reach the postseason in each campaign.

Walters enjoyed his best season as a professional this year while helping the Rattlers secure the top seed in the upcoming NB ZIP MLL Championship Weekend. He scored 32 goals with 12 assists in 12 games for the Rattlers, which ranked second on the team in points. With 44 points, he was tied for sixth in the MLL and ranked second among midfielders. He scored a season-high six goals with an assist in a May 31 win over Philadelphia and added a five-goal, one-assist performance against the Barrage three weeks later. He also scored five goals and two assists in a win over New Jersey on July 19.

Martin appeared in all 12 games for the Dragons and ranked second on the team with 53 ground balls while scoring three goals with three assists. Named to the All-MLL Team for the second time in the last three years, the former Salisbury University defenseman ranked fourth among defensemen with six points and was fifth in ground balls among players at his position.

Merrill ranked second on the Rattlers' squad with 75 ground balls while leading all MLL defensemen with 18 points, scoring six goals with 12 assists. He was honored as the MLL Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Rattlers to a victory over the New Jersey Pride on July 19 when he tallied a season-high 12 ground balls along with an assist. He also had 12 ground balls in the Rattlers' victory over Long Island on August 1. Merrill scored two goals against Boston in the season opener on May 23 and against the Cannons on July 26 in a 26-19 victory at PAETEC Park. In the season finale against Chicago on August 10, Merrill recorded a goal with three assists.

A two-time selection to the All-MLL Team, Sweeney led Philadelphia to its third straight NB ZIP MLL Championship Weekend berth after scoring five goals with four assists in 11 games. He ranked second among defensemen in scoring while his 47 ground balls were tied for seventh in the MLL rankings among defenders. Sweeney, who has scored 10 goals in the last two years, opened the season with one goal and two assists against Washington on May 18 and tallied a goal in each of the first three games. Named as the All-MLL face-off specialist for the second straight year, Smith set an MLL record by winning 249 face-offs in 12 games for the Rattlers, breaking the previous record of 238, which was set by Baltimore Bayhawks midfielder Paul Cantabene during the 2004 season. Smith also ranked second in the MLL with 94 ground balls and scored three goals with two assists. A 2007 graduate of the University of Delaware, Smith earned Bud Light MVP honors on July 12 after leading the Rattlers to a win over the Washington Bayhawks.

Honored as the Warrior Goalkeeper of the Year, Jarboe played in all 12 games for the Riptide and led the MLL with a 12.75 goals against average. The former U.S. Naval Academy goalkeeper also stopped 53.2 per cent of the shots he faced, which ranked seventh in the league. He was a two-time selection as the Goalkeeper of the Week this season for Los Angeles, which finished with a 7-5 record.

On May 31, Jarboe helped the Riptide earn a 17-13 victory over San Francisco, spoiling the Dragons' home opener. He made 16 saves, including 10 in the second half, as the Riptide won for the second game in a row. Against the two-time defending MLL champion Philadelphia Barrage on July 26, he made 19 saves and earned Bud Light MVP honors as the Riptide earned a 13-9 victory.

The MLL leader in save percentage, Scherr stopped 59.9 per cent of the shots he faced for the Pride in nine games. He also ranked sixth in the MLL with a 14.18 goals against average and was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star Team. A two-time selection as the League's Goalkeeper of the Week, he earned the award in back-to-back weeks after leading the Pride to wins over Rochester and San Francisco in mid-June. He made 43 saves in the two victories while allowing just 19 goals, good for a .693 save percentage.

He also matched a career high with 26 saves against Boston on June 6 and recorded 20 or more saves four times during the season.

The 2008 NB ZIP MLL Championship Weekend will begin on Saturday, August 23 with a pair of semi-final games at Harvard Stadium. The Rochester Rattlers will face the Philadelphia Barrage in the first semi-final at 12 p.m. on ESPN2 while the Denver Outlaws and Los Angeles Riptide will play at approximately 3 p.m. The NB ZIP MLL Championship Game will be played on Sunday, August 24 at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN2.

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Major League Lacrosse Stories from August 19, 2008


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