Portland Begins Its Second Season In San Jose

April 30, 2008 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Portland Lumberjax News Release


PORTLAND, April 30, 2008 - Two seasons ago, the expansion Portland LumberJax won the West Division with a record of 11-5, only to fall to the fourth place Arizona Sting 14-11 at the Rose Garden Arena. Fast forward two seasons and the fourth place Jax (6-10) will look for a reversal of fortunes as they travel to San Jose to meet the first place Stealth (9-7) at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 4 at the HP Pavilion in the West Division semifinals.

The winner of the San Jose and Portland matchup will meet the winner of the Colorado Mammoth and Calgary Roughnecks semifinal in the West Division Championship during the weekend of May 9-11.

Unlike the 2006 team, which won six straight games to close out the regular season, this year's team never had a winning streak beyond two games. However, after a 1-5 start, Portland closed the season playing .500 ball over the final 10 games. The solid play was enough to clinch a playoff spot and a date with the rival Stealth.

This will be the fourth meeting between the two clubs this season. The Stealth won the first meeting in Portland on Apr. 5th, 12-9. Less than 24 hours later, Portland returned the favor in San Jose, winning 12-10.

In the third and final meeting of the regular season on Apr. 18, Portland pulled out a 12-11 overtime win to take a 5-4 lead in the all-time series. Forward Peter Morgan buried the game winner three-minutes, 52-seconds into the extra quarter. The victory, combined with an Edmonton Rush loss that same evening, clinched Portland's second ever postseason appearance.

The rivalry with San Jose is one of the more interesting (and at the same time perplexing) ones in sports. From day one, when the Jax won in San Jose 15-8 on Jan. 27, 2006, the road team has held the clear advantage. Of the nine meetings all-time, the road team has won seven.

The road club has also won all three meetings this season and the last five in the series. Two of Portland's three road wins this season came at the HP Pavilion, a location the Jax have treated as a second home during the team's three-year existence.

San Jose won the West for the first time ever by holding a solid record at home and thriving on the road. The Stealth were the only team in the West to have a winning record on the road and played .500 ball at home en route to the 9-7 record and top overall seed in the West.

Making the playoffs was Portland's goal from the beginning of the season. After a disappointing 4-12 campaign in 2007, the Jax regrouped in the offseason and reloaded the team with a stacked lineup that included ample playoff experience. 17 of the 23 players on the active roster have playoff experience, an intangible that clearly paid dividends as the Jax fought for the final playoff spot in the West.

For Portland, its second and most important season begins on Sunday in San Jose: the Champion's Cup Playoffs.



National Lacrosse League Stories from April 30, 2008


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.

OurSports Central