Nationals March into Boston Saturday
July 19, 2011 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Hamilton Nationals News Release
Game Notes: The Hamilton Nationals travel to play the first place Boston Cannons on Saturday, July 23rd at 7:00 p.m. at Harvard Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com.
Head-to-Head: Hamilton is 2-2 lifetime against Boston. The game is the first of two meetings this season between the two teams. The Nats last win against the Cannons was a 15-13 victory in Boston on July 1, 2010.
Hamilton Notes: The Nationals' record-tying three-game winning streak came to an end last Saturday in a 12-11 overtime loss to the Chesapeake Bayhawks. The defeat dropped the Nationals to 4-4 and reduced their lead over the Long Island Lizards to one game for the fourth and final playoff spot. Stephen Keogh had an impressive professional debut with a two-goal effort. Kevin Crowley and Geoff Snider chipped in three-goal performances. Scott Rodgers was stellar in goal, making 19 saves to move into third in the league with a 12.63 goals-against average. Despite his franchise-record 19-game point streak coming to an end, Joe Walters is tied for fourth in the MLL with 27 points (11+1+15) and is tied for first with 15 assists. Brodie Merrill leads all MLL defensemen with 10 points (3+1+6) and is tied for second in the league with 47 ground balls. Jeremy Boltus leads all MLL rookies with 22 points (15+7). He is five goals away from moving into the MLL Top 10 all-time in rookie single-season tallies. He trails Mike Springer (Bridgeport - 2003) and Conor Gill (Boston - 2003). Kevin Huntley has the record with 30 (LA - 2008).
Brodie racing to 500: Nationals defenseman Brodie Merrill has 494 ground balls and needs just six to become only the second player in MLL history to reach the 500 mark. Merrill is second in league history to Paul Cantabene (538).
Five first teamers: The Nationals have five First Team All-Americans from the Class of 2011: Matt Dolente (Johns Hopkins), Kevin Ridgway (Notre Dame), David Earl (Notre Dame), Jeremy Boltus (Army) and Kevin Crowley (Stony Brook).
All-Star performers: National goalie Joe Marra, faceoff man Geoff Snider, midfielder Joe Walters and defenseman Brodie Merrill participated in the 2011 Sports Authority MLL All-Star Game at Harvard Stadium on July 9th.
Cannons Notes: Boston (6-2) suffered its second loss of the season last Saturday, 12-11, to the Long Island Lizards. The Cannons failed to clinch a playoff spot, still needing a win or a Lizards loss to secure a trip to Championship Weekend. Paul Rabil (2+1+1) and Matt Poskay (3+1) led the Boston offense, which was limited to just one goal in the second half. Rabil moved into first in the MLL with 37 points (20+3+14). Poskay now ranks seventh with 23 points. Goalie Jordan Burke made 15 saves and ranks first in save percentage (.614) and second in goals-against average (10.15). All-Star rematch at the X: Boston's Chris Eck and Hamilton's Geoff Snider will go head-to-head for the second time this season after facing off in the 2011 All-Star Game. Eck won 21 of 38 draws against Snider. Eck leads the MLL with 132 faceoff wins, while Snider is fifth with 70.
Next Game: The Nationals travel to play the Chesapeake Bayhawks on Saturday, July 30th at 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from July 19, 2011
- Nationals March into Boston Saturday - Hamilton Nationals
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