Major League Lacrosse Kicks Off Its Fourth Season of High Scoring, Fast Moving, Hard-Hitting Action
May 21, 2004 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL) News Release
Boston, MA (May 21, 2004) â Major League Lacrosse (MLL), the premiere professional outdoor lacrosse league, will begin its fourth season of play on Saturday night, May 22, with three games that signify the future of the league. The Philadelphia Barrage welcome the New Jersey Pride to their new home, Villanova Stadium, while the defending champion Long Island Lizards help the Boston Cannons break in their new turf at Boston University's Nickerson Field. The marquee matchup of Week One pits the three-time defending National Division champion Baltimore Bayhawks against the high-scoring Rochester Rattlers at Seahawks Stadium in Seattle, WA, in the first leg of the MLL's Wild West Tour. The Bayhawks-Rattlers contest will be telecast nationally on ESPN2 on Tuesday, June 1 at 4 p.m., and it will also be shown live in the Seattle area on KONG-TV.
The Cannons open their first season at Nickerson at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday with an opportunity to avenge last year's post-season loss at the hands of the Lizards. If Boston is to win its third consecutive season opener, emerging superstar Conor Gill will likely have a hand in the victory. The 2002 Cascade Rookie of the Year continued to make his mark on Major League Lacrosse in 2003, setting a new single-season league record with 40 assists and a Cannons season mark with 63 points. Gill is joined on the attack by David Evans, Boston's career leader in points and goals scored. Last season Evans finished second on the team with 26 goals and third with 39 points, and he also successfully defended his Bud Light MLL Skills Competition Fastest Shot title with an astounding 108 miles per hour shot.
Mike Regan and Michael Watson, team co-leaders last season with 31 goals, both return to a Boston lineup that led the American Division with 201 points in 2003. Regan is especially dangerous from distance; 11 of his goals last season were two-pointers, a new MLL record. The defense is anchored by Ryan Curtis, who won the Warrior Defensive Player of the Year award last season and also gobbled up a career high 41 ground balls. But the Cannons will have to replace fellow defensive stalwart Brian Kuczma, who was traded in the off-season to Philadelphia. In return, Boston picked up middie Chris Rotelli, who is just a year removed from winning the Tewaaraton Trophy as the top player in NCAA men's lacrosse.
The Lizards open their second title defense in three years which much the same cast that hoisted the MLL Trophy following last season's dramatic overtime victory in the New Balance MLL Championship Game. The Lizards return 18 players, including reigning Bud Light MVP of the Year Jay Jalbert, whose 47 points and 105 ground balls were tops on the team last season. 2003 Warrior Goaltender of the Year Brian Dougherty (21 career wins) and Kevin Lowe, who notched the overtime winner in last year's Championship Game, are key returnees for the Lizards defense.
The Lizards defeated Boston all three times they faced last year, but this year Long Island will be under the leadership of a new head coach. Former Lizards midfielder and assistant coach Vinnie Sombrotto will take over the reins of the championship club this season. Head coach John DeTommaso stepped down from his position after leading the Lizards to three consecutive championship games and two MLL titles.
Villanova Stadium, the site of last year's New Balance Championship Game and its MLL-record crowd of 6,593 fans, is the setting for Saturday's other East Coast matchup at 7:00 p.m. The Barrage will play their first game at Villanova since moving in the off-season from Bridgeport, Conn. Philadelphia is looking to avoid the mistakes of last season, when they lost six straight games to start the campaign and finished with a league-worst 1-11 record. In hops of reversing their fortunes, the Barrage added some fresh faces to their new home by acquiring some of the best veteran players in the league. 2002 MLL Bud Light MVP of the Year and two-time Warrior Goalie of the Year Greg Cattrano joins the team in goal to reinforce the back line. Cattrano's 27 career wins in three years with Baltimore are more than any other player in MLL history.
Philadelphia also added two key players to the lineup that will help shore up the defense. Kuczma, an All-Star in 2003, was acquired from Boston and veteran Brian Spallina was taken with the first overall pick in the 2004 Supplemental Draft. The Barrage offense will be led by attackman Dan Denihan and middie Roy Colsey. Denihan notched seven points in two games against the Pride last season; his 49 points on the season ranked fifth in the league. Colsey is the Barrage's long-range threat, scoring five of the team's league-leading 15 two-point goals.
The Pride have never lost to the Barrage and aim to continue that streak as they begin their quest for a third consecutive playoff berth. New Jersey is coming off a strong 7-5 season and the team's best-ever winning percentage (.583). The Pride's explosive offense looks to improve further with the addition of last season's MLL Cascade Rookie of the Year, midfielder Adam Doneger, who scored 26 goals with Rochester. New Jersey also added local product Nick Schmidt from Rutgers, whose blinding speed and amazing two-handed shot will make an instant impact. Doneger and Schmidt will join a midfield that features three-time MLL All-Star Dave Curry (23 goals in 2003) and Austin Garrison (13 goals).
This pair of newcomers will augment an already potent attack led by Jesse Hubbard, the MLL all-time leading goal scorer who led the league with 50 tallies last season. Attackman Scott Urick provides another strong offensive force; his 40 goals last season were good for third in the league. The Pride defense is anchored by 2002 Warrior Defenseman of the Year Christian Cook and 2003 MLL All-Star goalie Trevor Tierney.
But the weekend's most talked-about matchup won't even be taking place in a Major League Lacrosse cityâwell, not a current one, that is. With the intent of launching a Western Division by 2006, the league is hosting several games this season in potential expansion cities, coining the series the MLL Wild West Tour. The first of these affairs will take place on Saturday, when the Bayhawks and Rattlers make the trip to Seattle for a season opening game at Seahawks Stadium, home of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. The event is being presented jointly by the MLL and First and Goal Inc.
The Bayhawks have not only ruled the National Division, but they've made three straight appearances in the Championship Game, winning in 2002. The club is led both on the sidelines and on the field by player-coach Gary Gait, in his second year at the helm. The legendary Gait notched 30 goals and added 13 assists last season. But Baltimore's offensive catalyst is attackman Mark Millon, the two-time defending Warrior Offensive Player of the Year. Millon led the Bayhawks in scoring last year with 45 goals and 68 points, and he ranks second all-time in the MLL in both categories.
Baltimore enters the game with the utmost confidence against the Rattlersâwell-earned confidence. The Bayhawks defeated Rochester in both meetings last season on their way the only perfect 4-0 divisional record in the MLL. Baltimore holds a decisive 9-1 advantage all-time in head-to-head meetings with the Rattlers. And in what already promises to be a high-scoring affair, Gait said he is looking to boost the Bayhawks output by placing an increased emphasis on the offensive side of the ball, especially from the midfielders.
Baltimore may need every goal they can muster when they take on the division-rival Rattlers. Rochester boasts a high-octane offense that led the league last season in total points, goals and power play goals. Leading the offensive charge are super-siblings Ryan and Casey Powell, two of the most explosive players in the MLL. Casey topped the league in scoring in 2003 with an amazing 70 points in just twelve games. He is the MLL all-time leading scorer, ranks second all-time in assists and is third in goals. Ryan finished the 2003 campaign with 31 points in six games, good for third on the team in scoringâeven though he missed half the season. Ryan has been a force in the league from day one, winning the first-ever Bud Light MVP of the Year award in 2001.
Their offensive prowess notwithstanding, the Rattlers made several changes in the off-season. Most notable is the arrival of coach B.J. O'Hara, a former coach at Hobart College. During his playing and coaching collegiate career, O'Hara claimed nine NCAA lacrosse championships. O'Hara will have at his disposal A.J. Shannon, who was acquired from the Pride in exchange for Doneger, last season's Cascade Rookie of the Year. O'Hara noted that Shannon, a middie who won an NCAA title at Virginia before he was selected in the first round of the 2003 Collegiate Draft, will see action on the power play with Doneger's departure.
Major League Lacrosse, a six-team professional outdoor lacrosse league, was founded in 1999 by fitness entrepreneur Jake Steinfeld, CEO of Body by Jake Global L.L.C., and 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; and 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. The MLL commenced play in June of 2001 and enters this season with teams in Baltimore, Boston, Long Island, (Montclair) New Jersey, Philadelphia and Rochester. The 2004 MLL season begins on Saturday, May 22 and concludes with the New Balance Major League Lacrosse Championship Weekend, Thursday, August 19 and Sunday, August 22. Additional league information can be found at www.majorleaguelacrosse.com.
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