Philadelphia Barrage Vs. Long Island Lizards
Published on August 6, 2004 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Philadelphia Barrage News Release
Last Game Recap: The Philadelphia Barrage advanced to a record of 5-5 after a 17-13 win against the Baltimore Bayhawks last Saturday night. Ryan Boyle was the Barrage's leading scorer with 6 points (2g, 4a), followed by Keith Cromwell with 5 points (1 2-pt g, 3a). Roy Colsey (3g), Blake Miller (3g), and Mike Mollot (3g) all recorded three goals for the night. Nicky Polanco matched up against one of Baltimore's top scorers, Mark Millon. Polanco held him to one assist and a goal in a man up situation for Baltimore. Greg Cattrano recorded 23 saves for the night.
Long Island's Last Game Recap: Long Island gained another victory in an overtime win against the Rochester Rattlers last weekend, 14-13. AJ Haugen was the leading scorer for the Lizards with 5 points (1g, 1 2-pt g, 2a), followed by Jay Jalbert with four points (1g, 3a). Brian Dougherty had 23 saves in the win while the Lizards were 0-4 in power play attempts.
Players of the Week: Ryan Boyle earned this week's Offensive Player of the Week as well as the Rookie of the week. Boyle was the Barrage's leading scorer for the night with 6 points (2g, 4a). This is the sixth week in a row Boyle has received Rookie of the Week for the Barrage, but the first week he has earned both Offensive Player and Rookie. Nicky Polanco earned Defensive Player of the Week after holding Mark Millon scoreless on even strength opportunities. Millon had 1 goal and 1 assist for the night. Polanco also had zero penalty minutes.
Last Time They Met: Philadelphia beat the Long Island Lizards last time they met, 18-17. Philadelphia won the majority of the face offs, winning 21, while Long Island won 16. Boyle (1g, 5a) and Keith Cromwell (3g, 3a) were the high scorers for the night, each recording 6 points. Roy Colsey registered 5 points (2g, 1 2-pt g, 1a) and Blake Miller had 4 (3g, 1a). Kevin Lowe was the Lizards leading point scorer with 5 assists. Tim Goettelmann notched 4 points (1g, 3a) and Chris Massey recorded 3 points (3g).
Feature Match-Up: This week's feature match up will be between the best two goalies in the league, Philadelphia's Greg Cattrano and Long Island's Brian Dougherty. These two goalies have both tied the record this season for saves with 33 and have had monumental impacts with helping their teams reach their records (PHL 5-5, LI 6-4). In both their games last week, Philadelphia versus Baltimore and Long Island against Rochester, each recorded 23 saves for the night, as well as coming out with a victory. Cattrano and Dougherty each have a 58.1 career save percentage, but Doc has a slightly better 2004 save percentage. He has a 61 2004 save percentage, while Cattrano has a 54.5 2004 save percentage. That's ok though, because Cattrano has one record under his belt that no other goalie in the MLL has. Cattrano is the only goalie in the MLL to score a goal in a game!
Playoff Pull: The Philadelphia Barrage is looking to make their first playoff birth in franchise history. Philadelphia's current record is 5-5, also a first in Barrage history, and if they gain another win this weekend they will most likely secure a spot for the Championship Weekend in Boston. Boston is the only team that already has secured a spot, and New Jersey has been eliminated after only winning 1 game this season.
Cascade Rookie of the Year: Although Ryan Boyle did not earn the MLL Rookie of the Week position, even after being Philadelphia's leading scorer against Baltimore with 6 points (2g, 4a); he is still in the lead to win the award of MLL Cascade Rookie of the Year. He has earned the MLL Rookie of the Week four times, two more than any Rookie in the league. If he keeps playing with the same intensity as past games, it is likely he will earn this award the last two weeks of the regular season.
Winning on the Road: The Barrage has a better record on the road then they do at home. They have only won two games at home and lost the other three home games. On the road, they have only lost twice, and have won three games. Their first win of the season was on the road, beating the New Jersey Pride, 15-12.
Miller vs. Jalbert: Jay Jalbert is a two time MLL All-star, as well as a Summer Showcase All-star. Miller is also a two-time MLL All-star. Last year Jalbert created the record for most goals scored in a season by a mid fielder with 32. This season, Blake Miller has broken Jalbert's record, scoring 36 goals already in the 2004 season, with two games remain. Jalbert has 38 points this season (25 g, 3 2-pt g, 10a) while Miller has 45 points (36g, 9a).
BRB & ARB: These two acronyms probably do not mean anything to the non-lacrosse fan, but a Barrage fan should definitely know what they mean. BRB stands for Before Ryan Boyle and ARB stands for After Ryan Boyle. The Barrage was 1-3 before Boyle was traded after the 2004 Collegiate Draft. After he came on board, they only lost two more games, but won four. Boyle has been selected to Philadelphia's Rookie of the Week every week he has played, and has been a MLL Rookie Selection four times. He currently has 36 points (11g, 25a) and is the third highest point scorer on the team. It could be said that he single handedly turned the team around, and could lead them to their first post season ever!
Major League Lacrosse Stories from August 6, 2004
- Philadelphia Barrage Vs. Long Island Lizards - Philadelphia Barrage
- Bayhawks Snap Losing Streak in Explosive Fashion With Convincing Victory Over Cannons - Chesapeake Bayhawks
- Rochester Rattlers at New Jersey Pride - Dallas Rattlers
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.
