2007 Major League Lacrosse season

The 2007 Major League Lacrosse season was the seventh season of the league. The season began on May 12 and concluded with the championship game on August 26, 2007.

General information

In November 2006, the Baltimore Bayhawks relocated to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Bayhawks. They played 5 of their 6 games at Multi-Sport Field and 1 at George Mason Stadium.

New venues in 2007

• The Boston Cannons moved their home games to Harvard Stadium.
• The Chicago Machine moved their home games to Toyota Park.
• The Philadelphia Barrage moved their home games to United Sports Training Center

New rules in 2007:

• Moved the two-point arc back to 16 yards (15 m) away from the goal. It had previously been 15 yards (14 m) away.
• Created the same stick dimension requirements as NCAA.
• Enforce “pull-strings” as making a stick illegally altered and thus cannot re-enter the game.

Chicago won for the first time in franchise history on June 2 defeating Denver. The Machine had lost a league record 13 consecutive games (including all 12 games in 2006).

The 2007 season was a record breaking season:

• On June 16, the Rochester Rattlers won a 27–26 (in overtime) game over the Denver Outlaws in the highest scoring game in MLL history at INVESCO Field at Mile High.^[1]

• A MLL record crowd of 19,793^[2] watched the July 4 game between Chicago and Denver at INVESCO Field at Mile High. The previous mark was 15,981, set by a Los Angeles at Denver game in 2006.
• John Grant, Jr. broke the league's single-season points record with 71 points,^[3] while Spencer Ford set the single-season assists record 47.^[4]

Regular season

W = Wins, L = Losses, PCT = Winning Percentage, GF = Goals For, 2ptGF = 2 point Goals For, GA = Goals Against, 2ptGA = 2 point Goals Against

Qualified for playoffs

Eastern Conference
Team	W	L	PCT	GF	2ptGF	GA	2ptGA
Philadelphia Barrage	9	3	.750	175	5	139	5
Rochester Rattlers	9	3	.750	208	5	153	10
Boston Cannons	5	7	.417	169	2	179	2
Long Island Lizards	5	7	.417	156	6	162	8
Washington Bayhawks	5	7	.417	134	11	190	5
New Jersey Pride	4	8	.333	155	5	163	6

Western Conference
Team	W	L	PCT	GF	2ptGF	GA	2ptGA
Los Angeles Riptide	9	3	.750	190	5	138	5
Denver Outlaws	7	5	.583	190	7	174	12
San Francisco Dragons	4	8	.333	157	12	180	6
Chicago Machine	3	9	.250	162	7	218	6

Philadelphia finished first in the East over Rochester based on a better conference record (8–2 vs. 7–3).

Boston finished 3rd in the East based on combine record against Long Island and Washington: 3–1 (2–0 against Washington, and 1–1 against Long Island). Long Island finished 4th based on combine record against Boston and Washington: 2–2 (1–1 against Washington 1–1 against Boston) and Washington finished 5th based on combine record against Boston and Long Island: 1–3 (1–1 against Long Island and 0–2 against Boston).

All Star Game

July 8 at Harvard Stadium in Boston
Eastern Conference All Stars 19–12 Western Conference All Stars

MVP Matt Poskay (Boston) for the Eastern Conference^[5]

Playoffs

The 2007 NB Zip Major League Lacrosse Championship Weekend took place August 25–26 at PAETEC Park in Rochester, New York

Semi Finals August 25 @PAETEC Park, Rochester, New York
Philadelphia 13–12(OT) Denver
Los Angeles 15–14 Rochester

Championship August 27@PAETEC Park, Rochester, New York
Philadelphia 16–13 Los Angeles

Bracket

	Semifinal					Steinfeld Cup Final
	1	Philadelphia	13 (OT)
	4	Denver	12
						1	Philadelphia	16
						2	Los Angeles	13
	3	Los Angeles	15
	2	Rochester	14

MVP: Matt Striebel (Philadelphia)

Awards

Award	Winner	Team
MVP Award	John Grant, Jr. [6]	Rochester
Rookie of the Year Award	Alex Smith[7]	Rochester
Coach of the Year Award	John Tucker[8]	Los Angeles
Defensive player of the Year Award	Brodie Merrill[9]	Rochester
Offensive player of the Year Award	John Grant, Jr.[10]	Rochester
Goaltender of the Year Award	Brian Dougherty[11]	Philadelphia
Sportsman of the Year Award	Greg Bice [12]	Los Angeles
Most Improved Player of the Year Award	Spencer Ford[4]	Los Angeles

References

1. "Rochester Rallies For Overtime Win, 27–26". MajorLeagueLacrosse.com. June 16, 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
2. "Outlaws Defeat Chicago In Front Of Mll Record Crowd". MajorLeagueLacrosse.com. July 4, 2007. Archived from the original on 29 July 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
3. "Grant Sets Points Record In Rattlers Win". MajorLeagueLacrosse.com. August 11, 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
4. "Spencer Ford Named As 2007 Warrior Most Improved Player of the Year". MajorLeagueLacrosse.com. August 16, 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
5. "Poskay Leads Eastern Conference To 19–12 Victory In Mll All-Star Game". MajorLeagueLacrosse.com. July 8, 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
6. "Grant named 2007 Bud Light Major League Lacrosse Most Valuable Player". MajorLeagueLacrosse.com. August 24, 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
7. "Alex Smith Honored As 2007 Cascade MLL Rookie of the Year". MajorLeagueLacrosse.com. August 20, 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
8. "John Tucker Named 2007 Brine Coach of the Year". MajorLeagueLacrosse.com. August 17, 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
9. "Brodie Merrill Repeats As Warrior Defensive Player of the Year". MajorLeagueLacrosse.com. August 21, 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
10. "Grant Honored As 2007 Warrior Offensive Player of the Year". MajorLeagueLacrosse.com. August 15, 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
11. "Brian Dougherty Honored As 2007 Warrior Goalkeeper of the Year". MajorLeagueLacrosse.com. August 20, 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
12. "Greg Bice Honored As 2007 New Balance Major League Lacrosse Sportsman of the Year". MajorLeagueLacrosse.com. August 22, 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved August 30, 2007.