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Warrior Players of the Year, Coach of the Year Announced

Published on August 22, 2004 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL) News Release

Boston, Mass. (August 22, 2004) â Major League Lacrosse, the premiere professional outdoor lacrosse league, announced Saturday the winners of the Warrior Players of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Most Improved Player awards. Four of the five recipients are members of the Philadelphia Barrage: Offensive Player of the Year Blake Miller, Defensive Player of the Year Nicky Polanco, Goalie of the Year Greg Cattrano and Coach of the Year Sal LoCascio. Kevin Leveille of the Boston Cannons was named the first-ever Warrior Most Improved Player. Awards were based on votes submitted by the General Manager and the Head Coach of each of the six MLL teams. The winners, along with other MLL honorees, were acknowledged on Saturday at the 2004 Major League Lacrosse Awards Luncheon.

Warrior Offensive Player of the Year â Blake Miller, Philadelphia Barrage

Miller was tabbed as Warrior Offensive Player of the Year after leading the league with 46 goals, breaking Jesse Hubbard's three-year run as MLL goal scoring champion. In doing so, Miller shattered Jay Jalbert's league record for tallies in a season by a midfielder, which had stood at 32. He also became just the fourth player in MLL history to record 40 or more goals in a single season, joining Hubbard, Mark Millon and John Grant Jr. His seven-goal lead over Boston's Michael Watson, who finished the campaign with 39 tallies, was the largest margin of victory in MLL history.

Miller was named the league's Offensive Player of the Week twice during the regular season, including the final week against Boston in an 18-17 win at Villanova Stadium. He recorded seven points on five goals and two assists to clinch the Barrage's first-ever postseason appearance. Miller also received the honor following a Week Nine victory over the Cannons in which the Barrage set no less than eight scoring records.

The 1996 graduate of Hofstra finished among the league leaders in total points, ranking fourth with 57 points on 46 goals and 11 assists. In addition, Miller led the league with 10 hat tricks in 12 games as the Barrage finished the regular season with a five-game win streak.

Warrior Defensive Player of the Year â Nicky Polanco, Philadelphia Barrage

Polanco is the anchor of a defense that improved to give up 16.7 points per game in 2004, after allowing a league-record 255 points last year. Polanco, considered one of the best takeaway defensemen in the league, contributed by covering the opponents' top attackmen. He held Baltimore Bayhawks sniper Mark Millon to just one goal in each of two games this season, winning Defensive Player of the Week honors in Week Ten as a result. The veteran from Hofstra also limited the Long Island Lizards' Tim Goettelmann, who holds the MLL record for goals in a game, to a single tally in each of two meetings. Casey Powell, owner of the MLL single-season scoring record, was held without a goal by Polanco in Week Six.

Warrior Goalie of the Year â Greg Cattrano, Philadelphia Barrage

The only Warrior award-winner to have received similar honors in the past, Cattrano brought his pair of Warrior Goalie of the Year trophies (2001, 2002) with him from Baltimore in a blockbuster off-season trade. His veteran leadership helped guide the Barrage from a 1-11 record in 2003 to this season's 7-5 regular season finish and subsequent playoff berth.

As dependable as he is spectacular, Cattrano was the only goalie in the MLL to play ever minute of every game this season, similar to his days as a Bayhawk. He finished the 2004 season as the league leader in goalkeeper wins with seven and ranked among the leaders in goals against average (15.9) and save percentage (54.8%). Against the Bayhawks on June 19, the Brown University graduate tied a league record by making 31 saves, a mark that had been set the night before by Rochester's rookie netminder Tillman Johnson. He also became the first goalkeeper to score in an MLL game, tallying his first professional goal against the Rattlers in Week Four during Philadelphia's 19-15 win at Villanova Stadium.

Cattrano was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week twice this season, earning the award in Week Four and Week Eleven. He was named the Bud Light Game MVP following his performance on June 12 in the win over New Jersey at Sprague Field.

Warrior Coach of the Year â Sal LoCascio, Philadelphia Barrage

Entering the 2004 season with a 4-22 career record in two seasons, LoCascio helped guide a revitalized Barrage team to a 7-5 record and its first-ever postseason berth. With the seven wins, LoCascio and the Barrage doubled their all-time wins total in just one season.

After leading the Lizards in 2001 to the inaugural league title as their netminder, the former University of Massachusetts star opted to retire and begin his coachi ngcareerinMajorLeagueLacrosse.He joined the Barrage for the 2002 season and won just three of 14 games, finishing in third place in the American Division. Last year, he battled through a 1-11 season, which included a winless campaign at home. The Barrage relocated to Philadelphia during the off-season and with a strong supporting cast that evolved into several award winners, went from having the worst record in the league to being a title contender.

LoCascio has already announced that he is stepping down as the Barrage's leader following the season.

Warrior Most Improved Player â Kevin Leveille, Boston Cannons

As a rookie in 2003, Leveille slowly became acclimated to the MLL, netting six goals and an assist in five games. He proved in 2004 that he is truly comfortable in the pro game, upping his production to 27 goals and 40 points. The midfielder from the University of Massachusetts also demonstrated he can step up his game when it counts most, finishing tied for second in the league in both power play goals and game-winning goals.

Leveille showed from the start that he was a vastly improved player. In a Week Two shootout win over Baltimore, he scored five times, including once from behind the two-point arc, and added an assist for seven points, matching his entire total from 2003. He scored goals in each of the Cannons first seven games as well. In Week Twelve, with Boston's front line depleted by injuries, Leveille moved up to attack and netted six goals and a pair of assists.

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 began on Saturday, May 22 and concludes with the New Balance Major League Lacrosse Championship Game on Sunday, August 22 at Nickerson Field in Boston, Mass. Additional league information can be found at www.majorleaguelacrosse.com.

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Major League Lacrosse Stories from August 22, 2004

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