2001 Major League Lacrosse season

Last updated
2001 MLL season
League Major League Lacrosse
Sport Field lacrosse
DurationMay 2001 – August 2001
Number of teams6
TV partner(s) Fox Sports Net
MLL seasons

The 2001 Major League Lacrosse season was the inaugural season of the new semi-professional men's field lacrosse league. The league began play with six founding teams: Baltimore Bayhawks, Boston Cannons, Bridgeport Barrage, Long Island Lizards, New Jersey Pride and Rochester Rattlers. Each team played a 14-game regular season schedule that ended with a championship game on September 3, 2001.

Contents

Major League Lacrosse (MLL) played its first game on June 7 when Baltimore defeated Long Island 16–13 score at Homewood Field in Baltimore. Baltimore's Chris Turner scored the first goal in MLL regular season history. Those same two teams met in the Steinfeld Cup, the championship trophy named for co-founder Jake Steinfeld, with the Lizards turning the tables and beating the Bayhawks 15–11.

Regular season

Qualified for playoffs
American Division
TeamWLPCTPFPA
Long Island Lizards 104.714216196
Boston Cannons 311.214183221
Bridgeport Barrage 311.214190216
National Division
TeamWLPCTPFPA
Baltimore Bayhawks 104.714195172
Rochester Rattlers 86.571185159
New Jersey Pride 86.571197199

Boston beat Bridgeport in 3 of 4 regular season games, Rochester beat New Jersey in 3 of 4 regular season games.

All Star Game

The inaugural Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game was hosted by the Bridgeport Barrage at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut on August 2, 2001. [1] The National division team beat the American division 24–18. Mark Millon was the game's MVP.

Playoffs

The top two teams from each division qualified for the playoffs. The 1st place team from one division would play the 2nd place team from the other division in the semifinals. All games were played at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The format resulted in Boston (3–11) making the playoffs while New Jersey (8–6) did not. The format was changed the following season, so the two division winners and the next two best teams regardless of division made the playoffs.

Semifinals
September 1
Steinfeld Cup Final
September 3
      
Long Island (10–4) 13
Rochester (8–6) 12
Long Island15
Baltimore 11
Baltimore (10–4) 12
Boston (3–11) 11

Awards

AwardWinnerTeam
MVP Award Ryan Powell Rochester
Rookie of the Year Award Keith Cromwell Bridgeport
Coach of the Year Award John DeTommasoLong Island
Defensive player of the Year Award Rob DoerrBaltimore
Offensive player of the Year Award John Grant, Jr. Rochester
Goaltender of the Year Award Greg Cattrano Baltimore
Iron Lizard Award Joe GhedinaLong Island
Weekly Awards
WeekOffensiveDefensive
1 Jesse Hubbard Rob Doerr
2 Casey Powell Jim Mule
3 Ryan Powell Brian Dougherty
4D'Arcy Sweet
Terry Riordan
Steve Koudelka
5D'Arcy Sweet Greg Cattrano
6 Mark Millon Greg Cattrano
7 Jay Jalbert John Gagliardi
8 John Grant, Jr. Brian Dougherty
9 David Curry Bill Daye
10John Grant, Jr.Regy Thorpe
11John Grant, Jr.Rob Doerr
12Greg TraynorSal LoCascio
13 Paul Gait Pat McCabe

Statistics Leaders

StatPlayerTeamNumber
Goals Jesse Hubbard New Jersey44
Two-Point GoalsDavid EvansBoston6
AssistsJon HessNew Jersey39
Points Ryan Powell Rochester63
Face-off PctAndy TowersBoston.580
Save Pct Greg Cattrano Baltimore.583
GAA Brian Dougherty Rochester11.7

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References

  1. Kim Harmon (July 16, 2001). "The Bridgeport Barrage will host the first-ever Major League Lacrosse (MLL) All-Star game on Thursday, August 2, at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport. Face-off will be at 8 pm. Join league founder Jake Steinfeld (Body by Jake) with star player". The Newtown Bee. Retrieved August 15, 2019.