Pro Lacrosse Returns to the Carolinas

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

2008 Regular Season Match to Be Held at WakeMed Soccer Park

CARY, N.C. - Triangle Professional Sports, LLC and the Carolina RailHawks together with Major League Lacrosse (MLL), the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, announced today that the regular season match between the 2007 Champion Philadelphia Barrage and the Rochester Rattlers will be held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Saturday, June 21st at 7:30 PM. This will be the first ever MLL match in North Carolina and will give fans a glimpse of one of the fastest growing sports in the nation.

“We are excited to be able to present a Major League Lacrosse game to Triangle fans,” said Carolina RailHawks President and GM Chris Economides. “We are grateful to Major League Lacrosse and Commissioner Gross for agreeing to bring this growing sport to one of the most beautiful facilities in the country.”

The Philadelphia Barrage are the defending MLL Champions, and won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007, becoming the first MLL team to do so. Philadelphia has won a total of 3 MLL Championships. At 9-3, the Rochester Rattlers finished the 2007 season tied with two other teams for the best record in the league. Rochester just missed facing Philadelphia in last year’s Championship Game by a single goal, losing to the Los Angeles Riptide in the semifinals by a score of 15-14.

“I wish to thank Chris Economides and the RailHawks for providing us the opportunity to showcase Major League Lacrosse in this area,” said MLL Commissioner David Gross. “Fans should expect an exciting matchup, as the Barrage and the Rattlers are two of the very best teams in the league. There will be a lot of great lacrosse talent on display on June 21.”

Tickets for the event will go on sale Wednesday, February 20th at 10:00 AM at the Carolina RailHawks Box Office and at all Ticketmaster outlets and are priced $15, $20 for Premium and Club seats. For more information please visit the Carolina RailHawks website at www.carolinarailhawks.com or call 919-859-KICK (5425).

Major League Lacrosse, a 10-team professional outdoor lacrosse league, was founded in 1999 by fitness entrepreneur Jake Steinfeld, CEO of Body by Jake Global L.L.C., and founding 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; 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; and Jim Davis, Chairman of New Balance. The MLL commenced play in June of 2001. The MLL is comprised of two conferences. The Eastern Conference contains the original six teams, Boston, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Rochester and Washington. The Western Conference debuted in the 2006 season with MLL expansion franchises Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Additional league information can be found at www.majorleaguelacrosse.com.

The Carolina RailHawks are a United Soccer Leagues team that entered the USL First Division in April 2007. The squad played 14 regular season home games and seven additional home playoff, exhibition and US Open Cup games in its Inaugural Season, with all home games played at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. Under Rochester Rhinos co-owner and USL Hall of Fame inductee Chris Economides, the RailHawks organization was formed in October 2005 and awarded the USL franchise in January 2006. In September of 2007 the Carolina RailHawks announced the addition of a USL W-League team under the direction of Head Coach Jay Howell.


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