Rochester Rattlers vs. Philadelphia Barrage
Published on August 19, 2004 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Dallas Rattlers News Release
(Rochester, NY)... The National Division champion Rochester Rattlers battle the Philadelphia Barrage in the New Balance Semifinals on Friday, August 20th at Nickerson Field in Boston. Faceoff is set for 5:00 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on New Talk 950 WROC and SportsJuice.com.
Rochester clinched its first division title and advanced to the playoffs for only the second time in team history with a 21-14 win over the Long Island Lizards Saturday night. The only other postseason appearance by the Rattlers was in 2001 against the Lizards in the Major League Lacrosse Semifinals.
The Rattlers (7-5) meet the Barrage (7-5) for the third time this season. The Rattlers won the first meeting 24-17 on May 29th, but lost 19-15 in Philadelphia on June 26th. The other semifinal features the Boston Cannons (8-4) against the Baltimore Bayhawks (7-5) at 8:00 p.m. The winners will meet in the 2004 Major League Lacrosse Championship Game on Sunday, August 22nd - live on ESPN2. Ticket packages for all three Championship Weekend games are just $30. Tickets are available by calling 866-MLL-TIXX.
The Rattlers enter the postseason after winning three of their final four games. The lone loss was at Long Island on June 30th. The Barrage are the hottest team in the MLL, having won five straight games and six of their last seven. Philadelphia advanced to the playoffs with an 18-17 win over Boston Saturday night.
Rochester leads the all-time series with a 9-1 record, but of those wins were when the Barrage called Bridgeport their home.
The game this Friday features a showdown between the two Cascade Rookie of the Year candidates: Rochester's Tillman Johnson and Philadelphia's Ryan Boyle. Coincidently, Boyle was drafted by Rochester and Johnson was selected by the Barrage in the 2004 MLL Collegiate Draft. On June 3rd, Rochester acquired the highly-touted goalie, midfielder Steve Vallone and a 2005 Third Round Collegiate Draft Pick from Philadelphia for Boyle and midfielder Mike Mollot.
Johnson was the Barrage's first-round selection (3rd overall). The Annapolis, Md., native played four seasons at the University of Virginia and was the 2003 NCAA Division I Goalie of the Year and the Player of the Year as the Cavaliers won the national championship.
Boyle was an All-American at Princeton and has been an instant hit in Philly. He was honored five times as the Cascade MLL Rookie of the Week en route to 45 points (17+28) in eight games. Boyle finished third on the team in points and second in assists. Mollot has notched 11 goals and eight assists in eight games with the Barrage.
The trade has benefited the Rattlers as well. Johnson finished the season as the leader in GAA and save percentage. He won rookie of the week accolades twice and Defensive Player of the Week once. He also led the Rochester defense to a league-low 167 goals against.
On offense, the Rattlers are led by Casey and Ryan Powell. Ryan led the team with 59 points and finished third in the MLL in that category. Casey was tied for fourth in the league with 57 points and is second all-time in MLL history with 248 points. A.J. Shannon finished third on the team in goals (29) and points (36). He ended his first season with the Rattlers with a 12-game goal-scoring streak.
The Barrage counter with Blake Miller and Keith Cromwell. Miller tied Casey Powell with 57 points and Cromwell was second on the team with 53 points. In goal, Philadelphia boasts the all-time wins leader in Greg Cattrano. He has notched 34 regular season wins and led the MLL with seven victories in 2004. In his playoff career, he has a 4-2 mark and led the Baltimore Bayhawks to three title games and the 2002 MLL Championship.
SNAKE BITES
Playoff Bound Again: Three members of the Rattlers are heading to the playoffs for the second time this year: A.J. Shannon, Chris Schiller and Regy Thorpe. Shannon went to the 2004 National Lacrosse League Finals with the Buffalo Bandits and Schiller and Thorpe played in the NLL Quarterfinals with the Rochester Knighthawks.
Going back home?: Brent Rothfuss returns to the city where he played parts of three seasons in the MLL. He played for the Cannons in 2002, 2003 and 2004. The midfielder was traded in Week 3 to the Rattlers and returned to his hometown of Rochester, NY. Rothfuss will attempt to make it to the finals for the first time in three playoff appearances.
The Streaks Live: Three Rattlers ended the season with amazing streaks. Casey Powell has now recorded assists in a franchise record 19 straight games. Furthermore, Ryan Powell has scored a goal in 15 consecutive games and A.J. Shannon is close behind with 12 straight games with a goal. Shannon also has a hat trick streak of three games.
Assist-ance please: Rochester's Casey Powell is the league's all-time leader in regular season (108) and playoff assists (9).
Back again: Four players from the 2001 Rochester Rattlers playoff team are still on the roster. Chris Schiller, Regy Thorpe, Ryan Powell and Ryan Mollett all played for the Rattlers in the MLL Semifinals against Long Island.
Winning attitude: Rattlers Head Coach B.J. O'Hara has won nine NCAA lacrosse championships. He collected five as an assistant with the Hobart College Statesmen (1982-86) and three as the school's head coach (1990, 1991 and 1993). In 2002, he was a volunteer assistant coach at Division I Syracuse University when the Orange won the NCAA Division I National Championship.
Defense! Defense!: The Rattlers boast five former Defensemen of the Year: Eric Martin (2004) Michael Howley (2003), John Glatzel (2002), Ryan Mollett (2001) and Marshall Abrams (2000). Four of the five were Division I honorees, with Martin winning the Division III equivalent in 2004. Martin was selected by Rochester in the fourth round (20th overall) of the 2004 MLL Collegiate Draft. Abrams is the only member not on the active roster. He will miss the entire season because of an injury he sustained for the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League.
All-Rookie Team: The Rochester Rattlers have two players on their roster that were honored as members of the 2004 National Lacrosse League All-Rookie Team. A.J. Shannon (Buffalo Bandits) and Ryan Ward (Philadelphia Wings) were among the indoor league's best young players. Shannon was acquired in an offseason trade with the New Jersey Pride and Ward was selected in the 2004 MLL Supplemental Draft. Shannon played his college lacrosse at the University of Virginia and Ward spent his collegiate career at Butler University.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from August 19, 2004
- 2004 New Balance Major League Lacrosse Championship Weekend Opens With Semi-Finals on Friday - MLL
- Rochester Rattlers vs. Philadelphia Barrage - Dallas Rattlers
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