Barrage Game 3 (at Rochester 5-31-08)

By Tom Hoffman

The last two undefeated teams in Major League Lacrosse will square off this Saturday night when the Barrage (2-0) travel to Rochester to face the Rattlers (2-0) in Rochester's home opener. Faceoff at PAETEC Park is at 7:30 PM.

History

All time in regular season play the Barrage are 5-11 against the Rattlers, 5-3 since the franchise's move from Bridgeport, Connecticut. In Rochester the Barrage have a 2-6 record. Last season the teams split home wins, the Barrage winning at USTC 21-17 on June 2 while the Rattlers gained revenge with a 16-11 win on June 23. Roy Colsey had nine goals in the two games for the Barrage while Ryan Boyle had 14 points on three goals, one two point goal and nine assists. Rochester was led by John Grant Jr. with eight goals.

Last Week

After falling behind early by a 4-1 score, the Barrage went on to defeat the Long Island Lizards 18-12 at Texas Stadium. A crowd of 3,942 saw three Barrage players (Seth Goldberg, Matt Striebel and Michael Springer) score four goals each and Jed Prossner pick up six points (2G, 4A) on his way to Game MVP honors. Brian Dougherty earned Goalie of the Week honors with an 18 save evening. Rochester defeated Boston 17-14 at Harvard Stadium, riding a nine point effort from John Grant, Jr, one which earned him the MLL's Offensive Player of the Week award.

Fond Memories

Though the Barrage lost during their regular season visit to PAETEC Park, their following visit was much more memorable. During MLL Championship week last season at PAETEC, the Barrage earned their second straight title, and third in four seasons, with wins over Denver in the semi-finals and against Los Angeles in the championship game.

Next Game

The Barrage will travel next to Uniondale, NY on June 5 for a rematch with the Lizards.

Barrage Game 2 (vs Long Island 5-25-08)

By Tom Hoffman

The Barrage (1-0) will continue their 2008 road show when they travel to the home of the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Stadium, to face their East division rivals, the Long Island Lizards (0-1). Faceoff Sunday evening is at 9 PM.

History

The Barrage are 8-12 all time against the Lizards. The teams split home wins in 2007, Long Island broke open a halftime tie with nine straight goals to hand the Barrage their first loss of the 2007 season, 16-11 on June 16. The Barrage needed overtime on June 30 to end a two game losing streak and defeat the Lizards 14-13, Roy Colsey scoring the OT winner. Ryan Boyle and Seth Goldberg each had five goals to lead the Barrage against Long Island. Boyle added three assists to have eight points in he two games, as did Matt Striebel (4G, 4A). Brian Dougherty made 46 saves in the two games.

Last Game

The Barrage opened defense of their 2007 title with a 17-12 win over the Washington Bayhawks before 3,826 at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. Ryan Boyle earned game MVP honors with a three goal, two assist performance. Bobby Horsey also added a hat trick while Andy Corno won 19 of 30 faceoffs and Brian Dougherty made 19 saves in the Barrage victory. Long Island lost their opener at home 16-10 to the Rochester Rattlers. Long Island gave up the game's final seven goals after ex-Barrage Keith Cromwell scored to give the Lizards a 10-9 lead.

Notables

In addition to Cromwell, the Lizards Nicky Polanco and Blake Miller were all part of the Barrage's 2004 MLL Championship team.

Next Game

The Barrage will travel to Rochester to face the Rattlers on May 31.

Barrage Game 1 (vs Washington 5-18-08)

By Tom Hoffman

The Barrage will start on the road to a third straight Major League Lacrosse title, and fourth in five years, when they open their 2008 season in Virginia Beach, VA against the Washington Bayhawks on Sunday. This would have been the Barrage's home opener but as a result of the team being operated by the league for 2008, none of the Barrage's home games will take place in Philadelphia. Sunday's faceoff is at 2 PM and will be shown Live on Comcast Sportsnet.

History

The Barrage are 8-6 all time vs the Bayhawks and have won four straight games in the series. Last season the Barrage finished the regular season with a pair of routs against Washington, winning 21-11 at Georgetown on August 4th and 22-7 a week later in Downingtown. Roy Colsey scored eight goals in the two games for the Barrage while Matt Striebel added seven and Jed Prossner chipped in six.

Playoff recap

The Barrage won their second straight MLL championship with a 16-13 victory over the Los Angeles Riptide August 26th at Rochester's PAETEC Park. Matt Striebel took Game MVP honors with a six point (3G, 3A) performance including the game winning goal. The Barrage got to the finals with a 13-12 overtime win against Denver the day before. Kevin Cassese tied the game with 59 seconds left in regulation and Roy Colsey scored 51 seconds into overtime to win the game. Colsey's score came after Brian Dougherty stoned Denver's Geoff Snider on a breakaway scoring opportunity.

2007 Barrage Leaders

Goals: Ryan Boyle and Michael Springer - 26

Assists: Boyle - 31

Points: Boyle - 58

Saves: Brian Dougherty - 182

Roster

The Barrage bring back almost their entire roster from 2007 which included five members of the All-MLL team (Boyle, Striebel, Dougherty, D Brian Spallina and D Kyle Sweeney). Tony Resch returns as coach for his fourth season.

Next Game

The Barrage continue their road tour with a game when they travel to Dallas and Texas Stadium for a match with the Long Island Lizards on May 25th.

NLL Championship Preview (Portland at Buffalo 5-17-08)

By Tom Hoffman

The 2008 National Lacrosse League season will conclude this Saturday evening when the Portland Lumberjax (6-10) square off with the Buffalo Bandits in the Edge 2008 National Lacrosse League Championship Game. Faceoff at HSBC Arena is at 7:30. Buffalo will seek their fourth title, and first since 1996, in their eighth appearance in the finals. This will be Portland's first ever NLL final.

Postseason Results and History

The Bandits were victorious at home over Philadelphia (14-12) on May 2 and New York (19-12) on May 10. Portland's literal road to the title game led them to wins at San Jose (18-16) on May 4 and at Calgary (16-12) on May 10. Buffalo is 17-10 in overall postseason play while Portland is 2-1.

Regular Season History and Stats

The Bandits and Lumberjax have met three times in regular season play with Buffalo holding a 2-1 edge. In the final regular season game for both teams, the Bandits defeated Portland 14-10 in Buffalo on April 26. John Tavares had four goals and four assists to lead the Bandits while Peter Jacobs scored four goals and Brodie Merrill added four helpers to lead Portland. Tavares was Buffalo's point leader with 87 (29G, 58A) while Mark Steenhuis had 34 goals. Ken Montour had a 10.23 GAA for Buffalo, good for second in the NLL. Portland was paced by Dan Dawson with 81 points (38G, 43A) and an 11.22 GAA from Matt Disher (10.83 with the Jax following his acquisition from Edmonton).

Playoff Leaders

Goals: Buffalo: Mark Steenhuis - 7; Portland: Dan Dawson - 12*

Assists: Buffalo: John Tavares - 12*; Portland: Dawson and Peter Morgan - 10

Points: Buffalo: Tavares - 15; Portland - Dawson - 22*

Saves: Buffalo: Mike Thompson - 46; Portland - Matt Disher - 53

* - Playoff leader

Playoff Notes

This will be the third appearnce in the championship game in four seasons for Dan Dawson (with Arizona in 2005 and 2007) and Ken Montour (Arizona in 2005, Buffalo in 2006). Derek Malawsky and Brad MacDonald were teammates with Dawson on last season's Arizona squad that fell to Rochester.

The 1992 Bandits will be in the building both on the floor and behind the bench Saturday night. Playing for the Bandits will be lone original players John Tavares and Rich Kilgour while brother Darris coaches the squad. Tavares and Darris Kilgour have been a part of each of Buffalo's championship appearances, while Rich Kilgour has played in all but the first, missing the 1992 game due to injury. Their 1992 teammate, Derek Keenan, coaches the Lumberjax and is seeking his seventh ring, having been on the roster of three title teams as a player (Buffalo 1992 and 1993) and Toronto (1999) while earning three more as a Rock assistant (2000, 2002, 2003).

Portland is the first team since the 1992 Philadelphia Wings (3-5), and fourth overall (both Washington and Baltimore in the inaugural season of 1987 were 2-4) to make the championship game with a record below .500. Current Jax netminder Dallas Eliuk was a part of that 1992 Wings team. Eliuk has faced the Bandits in four previous title matches with a 1-2 record in those games. Eliuk was the championship MVP in the Wings 1998 and 2001 victories.

Pick

While Buffalo may be the more experienced team in the postseason, Portland has its share of title game experienced players. That and a carefree attitude since many fans and media didn't expect them to be in this game. While Buffalo has a 9-2 home record (including playoffs) this season, they have never won a title game in HSBC (1997, 2006) and Portland has not lost a road playoff game. If Eliuk plays, he could be the key to a Portland win. Buffalo is explosive on offense while Portland has outscored the Bandits 34-33 in the playoffs after finishing ahead of only Toronto, Chicago and Edmonton during the regular season in that department. Yet I think it will be the better defensive team that takes home the Champion's Cup on Saturday. And that will be Buffalo.

Bandits 14, Lumberjax 12

LaxPhilly Local Five - Postseason

By Tom Hoffman

The NCAA tournaments for lacrosse have begun and the Philadelphia area is well represented in all three divisions. Play started today for a pair of Division III schools, as the Widener Men's team travelled to Denison University while Eastern University's Women's squad made a trip to New York to visit Union College. While both teams fell today (Widener 19-6, Eastern 15-4), there are still plenty of local teams waiting to take their steps towards a possible NCAA title. Here are five games that should not be missed.

1. Haverford at Cabrini (May 10, NCAA Division III Men's)

The battle for Delaware County bragging rights, and the right to possibly face NCAA juggernaut Salisbury in the Quarterfinals. For the Fords (11-4), this is their tourney debut while the Cavaliers (16-2) make their seventh NCAA appearance. The two met in April with Cabrini taking home a 13-8 decision from Haverford. Cabrini is led by a pair of NCAA leaders in Juniors Scott Reimer (63 goals) and Kevin Chenoweth (5.66 GAA) while Haverford's top player is Sophomore Brian Fleishhacker (44 goals, 49 points).

2. West Chester vs. Limestone (May 15, NCAA Division II Women's)

The Golden Rams (18-1) will seek to avenge their lone regular season loss when they faceoff with the Lady Saints (17-1) in the Semifinals in Houston, Texas. The winner will face the victor of the other semifinal between Adelphi and C.W. Post. Limestone spoiled West Chester's season opener with a 9-8 win on March 9. The Golden Rams are seeking their fifth straight trip to the Division II title game and their first national title since 2002. West Chester boasts the #1 and 3 scorers in Division II (Stephanie Kienle with 134 points and Jackie Baker with 111 points) and the #2 goalie (Mary Green, 6.41 GAA). Limestone will counter with goalie Erin Cavanaugh (7.75 GAA, 5th NCAA).

3. Colgate at Penn (May 11, NCAA Division I Women's)

The Quakers (14-1), seeded second in the Women's Division I bracket, host Colgate (11-9). Penn rides into the postseason on a hot streak, including a victory over three time defending champion Northwestern while Colgate won the championship of the Patriot League. Penn's Sarah Waxman is the top goalie in Division I Women's lax while the Quakers as a team are tops overall defensively.

4. Temple at Maryland (May 11, NCAA Division I Women's)

The Atlantic 10 champion Owls (13-6) are making their first tourney appearance since 2004, but this will be their third straight NCAA game against the Terrapins (17-2), who defeated Temple in the 2003 and 2004 tournaments. Temple will need to stop Maryland top score and draw expert in Dana Dobbie (66 goals, 114 draw controls). Temple's Whitney Richards (fifth, 2.29 turnovers caused per game) and Berkley Summerlin (ninth, 1.94) will look to slow down the Maryland attack.

5. Montclair St. at Rowan (May 7, NCAA Division III Women's)

The two longtime New Jersey rivals meet in the first round of the D-III Women's tourney. Montclair defeated Rowan 13-9 on April 19.

Also appearing in the Division III Women's tournnament are the Lions of the College of New Jersey, who will face the winner of Claremont-Mudd Scripps and Ohio Wesleyan on May 10.

Our final feature for 2008 will rank the area's five top teams upon completion of postseason play.